ARREST warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar will not stop the killings in Gaza, warns an ex-Navy boss.
Lord Admiral West said he was “surprised” to hear of the International Criminal Court’s move against both men as it only “muddies the water”.
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It was revealed this week that both Netanyahu and “Gaza’s Bin Laden” Sinwar were facing arrest on war crime charges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC)’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Monday that he applied for arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Sinwar, and other senior figures.
And today, the UN court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and withdraw from the enclave.
Speaking on The Sun’s World At War show, former Navy chief Lord West said he was “surprised” to hear about the ICC request.
He said: “I’m not sure that it actually helps anything.
“I don’t think it’ll help stop the killings in Gaza. I think it muddies the water.”
Reaching a judgement will be “extremely difficult”, he claimed, as there are many “historical things” to consider.
Lord West said: “I think in terms of judging the actions of the Israelis today in Gaza, you’ve, in a way, almost got to separate it all from all the historical aspects or from what they’re doing in the West Bank, or from what their plans are for the future.
“Basically, they are doing a military operation in a very built-up area in Gaza.
“That is an extremely difficult thing to do, as we know, which is why we try and keep out … of those sort of operations.”
He added: “I think these judgements are so, so difficult.”
Netanyahu, 74, and Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, 65, are facing arrest for the crimes of “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies and deliberately targeting civilians in conflict”.
October 7 mastermind Sinwar, 61, Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, 58 and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, 62, meanwhile stand accused of war crimes including: murder, hostage taking, rape, sexual violence, torture, and cruelty.
ICC judges will decide within weeks whether there is enough evidence to issue arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Sinwar.
If warrants are issued, the Israeli PM could find himself effectively barred from nations including the UK, which is a member of the ICC.
The Hamas horror on October 7 claimed 1,200 lives, while Israel’s brutal response in Gaza is said to have killed more than 35,000.
What is the ICC?
By Jessica Baker
THE International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and tries people who have been charged with the gravest crimes, deemed to be of concern to the world at large.
Such crimes include genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.
It is the self-proclaimed “court of last resort” and does not replace, but rather complements, national courts.
The ICC is the world’s first permanent international criminal court and is governed by an international treaty called the Rome Statute.
Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said of the court when it was first created: “This cause… is the cause of all humanity.”
Its aims include helping to “protect and uphold the rights of people to live in peace, equality and dignity”.
ON THE BRINK
Lord West also warned the world is more dangerous now than during the Cold War.
He said the era of nuclear-sabre rattling between global superpowers was “safer in some ways because everyone understood it”.
The world now, he argued, is “very unpredictable” as he listed off the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and the escalating tensions in the South China Sea.
But as we move into what British leaders have called a “pre-war world”, West declared that our armed forces are “not of a size they should be”.
He said: “At long last, I think people are understanding: ‘Goodness me, we’ve taken too much out of defence’,” but added that for too long the forces have been “hollowing out.”
CHINA-RUSSIA THREAT
The ex-Navy chief also told The Sun’s Jerome Starkey on his hit show World At War that Chinese president Xi Jinping could betray his ally Vladimir Putin and invade Russia.
Lord West warned that Vlad should beware the company he keeps, as Xi may target him as part of his campaign for global domination.
He argued Putin was a submissive “supplicant” to a far more powerful Xi, and that the alliance between the pair of despots could fall apart if the Chinese leader becomes too greedy.
The former First Sea Lord said he believes Xi could be planning to invade parts of Russia and capture its bountiful oil fields.
He said: “If it really gets very bad and they desperately need resources I think there’s a very real risk they cold decide to take the bits of Siberia they want.
“It is all about resources. Resources are going to become more and more of a problem for China.
“They have already issued maps of Siberia that have Chinese names.
“That is why Putin is playing with fire. The Chinese don’t like him.”
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