By Ranjan Solomon
Here is revenge- Trump styled! The US has imposed sanctions on Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to that effect. The US Treasury Department stated in a release that it imposed sanctions on Khan under the provisions of the executive order issued by Trump on February 6, which mandates punishment of the ICC for issuing arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Big powers prefer to punish weaker nations by imposing illegal and unethical means to bring them to obey who they still believe to be the ‘Master’ versus the Slave. In this case, the ICC/ICJ commands the higher moral grounds. Israel’s status and US support have no status except to try and bully. Netanyahu and Gallant deserve a large slice of time in jail for their atrocities on well over 50,000 innocent civilians especially women and children. They are war criminals and one doe4s not even need to be a judge to figure that out.
Karim Khan is not alone in making his judgement. A group of eminent judges scrutinised the evidence provided by South Africa and supported by numerous other countries, and a vast body of civil society. Quite obviously the evidence is plausible. Add to that informed public opinion, and the voice of justice movements, trade unions, and students around the world, the case is well certified.
The streets, intellectuals, and all manner of social movements should heighten public opinion in their respective countries to lobby with their governments to ensure that the ICC is not restricted in any way to hand justice to the guilty.
Trump is a man out-of-touch with the world of reality. Trump 2 is a version that is far more dangerous than he was in his first term. First he knows too little about the world. This makes him a dangerous bully – someone who will act on the assumption that he is stronger than others. He will bring his own country to ruins for certain. He will lose his bets in the Middle East for certain. He has miscalculated his capacities. This is visible when one hears some of his press encounters. He has lost the plot because he never really had one. He tends to confuse deal-making with dialogue. Reality is not his forte to grasp. With his limited intellect, he is currently working to consolidate himself with a bunch of select bureaucrats and oligarchs. These are not people from the field of public service and experience. They are simply sycophants who are there to ensure they are in chorus when they act as ‘yes men’. It is a safe guess to claim that many of them will desert Trump when his ship starts sinking.
Trump is already tired and worn out. He slept in a church service and Melania had to keep him awake. His ideas have run out and the only thing one can expect is an outpouring of irrationality of ideas. This is dangerous because the man has his fingers that can press all the wrong buttons.
His ‘tariff gambles’ may work in countries here and there. But, by and large, he is being snubbed and the US has become the ‘joker of the pack’. China has firmly rejected all his propositions and countrered Trump’s tariffs deals with checkmates that have made Trump nervous and fidgety.
After backing down on China’s punishing counter-tariffs,he tried desperately to call Xi Jinping on the phone. He got no response and that is reality. It may be too late for Trump to learn from errors of judgment. He lives in the evening of his life and the sun is setting on his capacities to think better and act more efficiently. A state of collapse and a US that loses influence and respect in the global community will soon arrive. Even his oligarch friends could well stumble and fall.
This weekend will demonstrate whether Trump’s threat that “ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE” of all hostages are not released at the same time! Trump does not want this release of hostages one at a time. He has conveniently forgotten that on the other side, Israel has well over 1000 prisoners including hostages that have been detained without good reason. So Trump has once again made a threat he cannot keep.
Rifat Kassis, a well known social activist/human rights activist and political thinker/advisor and an eminent Christian leader says: “We may seem to be the weaker side militarily speaking. History attests to what have been called moral victories over mighty armies. The Americans have hardly ever won a war with all their sophisticated armoury. Their defeats have taught them nothing at all. To live in peace and justice, does not seem to fall within their scope of thinking.” Rifat Kassis adds: ” Recall the recent Gaza war. Who won? Gaza. Who lost? Israel. The country is now demoralised for many reasons. They have not told the truth to their people about the thousands of deaths on the Israeli side. They have hidden the truth about the hefty numbers that have fled with everything- bagt, baggage, money from their banks, investments, pension funds etc. Nothing remains. A microscopic few return to have a peek at whether there is any purpose saved by returning. A collapsing economy is not a good space to return to.” Kassis concludesA: “Not only have we won. We know it will be an uphill struggle. But we have the energy and resilience to protect what is our culture, heritage, and authentic ownership of the spaces. Most Jews have come from here, there, and everywhere. They don’t feel about the land as we Palestinians do. To us our land is mother. No wonder they can flee so easily and when they find it convenient. We, Palestinians, are here to stay” Forever”.
In solidarity
Ranjan Solomon
On behalf of MLN/Palestine Updates 14 February 2025