It was as though those congresspeople, many deeply beholden to AIPAC for their seats, were marionettes controlled by invisible strings. Meanwhile, the American people were represented by large segments of American youth who were out in university campuses and on the streets, demonstrating in defence of Palestinian lives and rights, and against the countless crimes and injustices being perpetrated against them. How do those members of Congress feel today? How can they hide their shame for dancing to the tune of a man facing the gravest criminal charges brought by the highest judicial body in the world?

The ICC has 124 state parties. As signatories to the Rome Statute, which established the court, these countries are legally bound to uphold the court’s authority and cooperate with its decisions. Many European powers, such as France, Italy and the Netherlands, have already issued statements saying they would abide by the court’s rulings. The EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell, said that the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant are not political and that all EU member states should respect the court decision and implement it. What this means is that if the criminal governing Israel or Gallant set foot in any of the 124 ICC member states, the authorities of those states are obliged by the Rome Statute to arrest them and hand them over to the court to be tried for crimes committed since 7 October 2023. Not that their record was spotless before then. But the court has limited its investigation to the period since Israel launched the war on Gaza. One of the cruellest and most inhumane crimes of war for which they have been charged is the use of starvation as a weapon of war. The court also found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. These crimes have been extensively documented by video footage broadcast live to the world. Many were perpetrated by the soldiers from what Netanyahu, in his speech to Congress, described as the “most humane army in the world,” which produced another of those on-command standing ovations from the purported representatives of the American people.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 28 November, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly