Arrest warrants for Netanyahu & Gaza’s Sinwar won’t stop the killings in Gaza, ex-British Navy chief warns

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This news report is chronicled here for future reference and to help me piece together relationships between Sudan, Iran, Israel, Hamas, Russia and others. It is strange how the SAF and everyone based in embassies in Sudan were taken by surprise when RSF attempted to seize power in Sudan 15 Apr 2023, and that Israel was taken by surprise when Hamas launched its horrific attack on Israel 7 Oct 2023. It is odd that the two events took everyone by surprise. Makes no sense. Fishy.

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Report from The Irish Sun
By JEROME STARKEY and JESSICA BAKER
Dated Friday, 24 May 2024 - excerpts:

‘ACHIEVES NOTHING’ Arrest warrants for Netanyahu & ‘Gaza’s Bin Laden’ Sinwar ‘won’t stop the killings in Gaza’, ex-Brit Navy chief warns

Admiral Lord West says ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Sinwar will not stop killings in Gaza. Watch as Lord West tells The Sun's Jerome Starkey of how he was 'surprised' to hear of the arrest warrants

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".

He told The Sun's defence show that the warrants only 'muddy the water' 

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar holds the child of an
Al-Qassam Brigades fighter Credit: AFP

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.

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."

Full story: https://www.thesun.ie/news/13032696/arrest-warrants-netanyahu-sinwar-lord-west/

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Related

ICC - 3 May 2024

Statement of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor

The Office insists that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence its officials cease immediately.

https://x.com/IntlCrimCourt/status/1786316229688414518

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ICC - 17 May 2024

Statement by the Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties in support of the independence and impartiality of the International Criminal Court

https://asp.icc-cpi.int/press-releases/PR-20240517

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ICC - 20 May 2024

Statement of ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC: 

Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine

https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-prosecutor-karim-aa-khan-kc-applications-arrest-warrants-situation-state

https://x.com/IntlCrimCourt/status/1792511134009856429

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FT.com - 20 May 2024

Opinion Israel-Hamas war 

Why we support ICC prosecutions for crimes in Israel and Gaza  

From Lord Justice Fulford, Judge Theodor Meron CMG, Amal Clooney, Danny Friedman KC, Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC, Elizabeth Wilmshurst CMG KC

https://www.ft.com/content/aa2089c5-6388-437d-bf5c-9268f3a788ce

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Clooney Foundation for Justice - 20 May 2024

Amal Clooney, Barrister and Co-Founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice

Today, my colleagues and I have published an oped and a detailed legal report  https://www.icc-cpi.int/about/otp/special-advisers-to-the-prosecutor/panel-of-experts-in-international-law/report-of-the-panel-of-experts-in-international-law of the Panel’s findings. My approach is not to provide a running commentary of my work but to let the work speak for itself. I hope that witnesses will cooperate with the ongoing investigation. And I hope that justice will prevail in a region that has already suffered too much.”

https://cfj.org/news/amal-clooney-publishes-expert-report-supporting-icc-arrest-warrant-applications-for-crimes-in-israel-and-palestine/

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BBC News - 24 May 2024

Top UN court orders Israel to stop Rafah offensive

The UN's top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has issued a dramatic ruling, ordering Israel to "immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crggvmyz03vo

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CIJ_ICJ @CIJ_ICJ  - 24 May 2024

A summary of the #ICJ Order on the request of South Africa of 10 May 2024 for the modification of the Order of 28 March 2024 in the case South Africa v. Israel 

https://tinyurl.com/mr323mvx

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END

Israel-Palestine war explodes on Sat 7 Oct. Sudan voices support for Palestinians' legitimate rights

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: "We are at war," says Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu, after a surprise Palestinian attack saw hundreds of rockets hit Israel from Gaza on Saturday, 7 October 2023. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him [Revelation 6:8 KJV]. God’s Word says Israel will not lose. Here below is a news summary from BBC News online Oct 7 and a report from China View Oct 8 'Sudan voices support for Palestinians' legitimate rights' followed by a page copied from the website of the late great American evangelist The Reverend Billy Graham entitled 'ARE WE IN THE END TIMES?' 

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Snapshot of BBC News LIVE Summary online 

Saturday, 7 October 2023:

• "We are at war," says Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu, after a surprise Palestinian attack saw hundreds of rockets hit Israel from Gaza
• Dozens of Israelis are believed to have been captured by Palestinian militant group Hamas which has launched its biggest attack in years
• "We are at war," says Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu - with 250 people in Israel reported killed
• Israel has responded with a wave of air strikes on Gaza, killing more than 230 people, officials say
• The violence continued on Saturday evening - with Tel Aviv and other central Israeli cities hit by a new barrage of rockets and Israel saying they are fighting militants in 22 places
• Hamas commander Mohammed Deif says the group had "decided to say enough is enough"
• US support for Israel is "rock solid", says President Joe Biden, pledging to make sure "they can continue to defend themselves"
• Dozens of gunmen from the Islamist militant group Hamas appear to have infiltrated southern Israel
• About 545 people have been injured in the attacks, with at least 22 Israelis dead, according to Israeli officials
• A senior commander from Hamas claims thousands of rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel
• Mohammed Deif says the Palestinian militant group had "decided to say enough is enough"
• The Israeli military says it has begun striking targets in the Gaza strip in response "to the barrages of rockets"

Monday, 9 October 2023, 13:43 BST:

• Israel's defence minister orders a "complete siege" of the Gaza Strip and the cutting off of food, fuel, electricity and water supplies
• It comes two days after shock attacks in Israel by Hamas militants left hundreds of civilians dead
• Nine US citizens are now confirmed dead, while more than 10 British citizens are feared dead, or missing
• Rocket attacks from Gaza targeting Israel continue, with explosions heard in Jerusalem
• Israel says it has regained control of its communities near Gaza - but some militants remain active
• More than 700 people have been killed in Israel since Saturday, including 260 people massacred by Hamas gunmen at a music festival
• Dozens of people were also kidnapped and Hamas claims four of the hostages were killed by air strikes in Gaza
• More than 500 people have died in Gaza since Israel began striking the area

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Report from ChinaView.cn - Xinhua
Editor: huaxia
Dated Sunday 8 October 2023, 17:30 - here is a full copy:

Sudan voices support for Palestinians' legitimate rights

KHARTOUM, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Saturday voiced support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in response to the developments in the Palestinian territories earlier on the day.

"Sudan renews its support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in their independent state and calls for commitment to the decisions of the international legitimacy and the protection of innocent civilians," the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The decline in international concern with the Palestinian issue, including the absence of progress relating to the two-state solution, has led to continued violence and tensions in the region," said the statement.

It added that today's incidents confirmed that the absence of a solution to the prolonged conflict in the area would push the region into a new era of instability.

The ministry further expressed concern about the developments in Palestine, stressing the need to resolve the Palestinian issue in accordance with decisions of international legitimacy and to enable the Palestinians to establish their independent state.

Earlier on Saturday, Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), launched a surprise attack on Israel, which included the firing of thousands of rockets and the infiltration of dozens of militants into the Israeli towns bordering Gaza.

In response, Israel launched tens of airstrikes against Hamas sites and residential buildings in Gaza. The fierce confrontation has led to hundreds of deaths on both sides. 

View original:

http://www.chinaview.cn/20231008/9ec33e9411d54089a6e74457f10e5aa1/c.html

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POSTSCRIPT from Sudan Watch Editor: Here is a page from the 'PeaceWithGod - Find Your Purpose & Hope' website of the late great American evangelist The Reverend Billy Graham.

ARE WE IN THE END TIMES?

So many people are looking for signs of the end times. They’re seeking answers because they see so much suffering around them and the world seems broken. The evangelist Billy Graham once said,

“We are like people under [a] sentence of death, waiting for the date to be set. We sense that something is about to happen. We know that things cannot go on as they are. History has reached an impasse. We are now on a collision course. Something is about to give.”

Mr. Graham was also confident the Bible speaks directly to this question.

“I believe that this world, as we know it, will come to an end. … This is not fanciful imagination but the clear and repeated testimony of the Bible.”

So what does the Bible say about the end times? Are we in the last days?

“…In the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).

How much does this sound like our present world? Can you see these things around you?

Billy Graham went on to say, “We see the storm clouds gathering and events taking place that herald the second coming of Jesus Christ.” If the end times announce the return of Jesus, what did He say about the last days?

He said in Matthew 24:6-7, “And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.”

We experience more than a dozen major earthquakes every year. Millions die of hunger annually and many live under the constant threat of war. But wait, you can still find hope in this.

God will not allow evil to win and He offers you peace in this world and beyond. Billy Graham said, “The end will come with the return of Jesus Christ. … That is why a Christian can be an optimist. That is why a Christian can smile in the midst of all that is happening. … We know what the end will be: the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

God has smiled on us and Jesus’ victory is certain. God’s peace is shared with everyone who desires a relationship with Him.

Look beyond the end times and begin your life with Jesus today.

View original: https://peacewithgod.net/are-we-in-the-end-times/

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