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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VIDEO FROM INSIDE SUDAN’S CITY OF WAR RUINS: An unfolding humanitarian catastrophe

Video report from Channel 4 TV News UK
By LINDSEY HILSUM International Editor

Filmed and edited by Soren Monk
Produced by Zahra Warsame
Dated Thursday, 23 May 2024 - full copy:

Inside Sudan: An unfolding humanitarian catastrophe

Ethnic cleansing. Killings. Torture and a looming famine. Millions of people in Sudan are living through a nightmare, since a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces plunged the country into a devastating war in April last year – splitting the nation.

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Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at YouTube here: 

https://youtu.be/GiIkYhRebdA

Channel 4 is a British public broadcast service.

Original: https://www.channel4.com/news/inside-sudan-an-unfolding-humanitarian-catastrophe

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Son of Hamas co-founder denounces group at UN, tells "Free Palestine" mobs around world Hamas is evil

HERE, for future reference and to help provide some understanding of the current Israel-Hamas war, are two videos showing powerful speeches by Mr Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef*.

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Video at YouTube (3 minutes 38 seconds)

Posted by J-TV Mar 6, 2024

Title: Son of Hamas Founder Message To "Free Palestine" Mobs Around The World: Hamas are evil

Description at video:

“Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of Hamas leader, Hassan Yousef, delivers a powerful new message to people around the world that chant "Free Palestine”.”

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/399gQcui04A 

112,088 views & 2,711 Comments to date.

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Video at YouTube (30 minutes)

Posted by CBN News Nov 21, 2023 

Title: Son of Hamas Co-Founder Denounces Group at UN, Exposes 'Savage' Indoctrination of Palestinian Kids   

Description at video:

“The son of a co-founder of Hamas blasted the terror organization in a blistering half-hour speech at the United Nations on Monday. 

Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, defected from the terrorist group in the late '90s and secretly worked with Israel's security services to expose and prevent several Hamas terrorist attacks. He wrote a 2010 autobiography titled Son of Hamas.

Yousef, 45, now endeavors to expose the true face of Hamas' genocidal death cult.”

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/pjOEJumoABg

6,050,602 views & 34,042 Comments to date

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* From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Hassan Yousef (born 1955) is a co-founder of Hamas, an Islamist organization primarily active in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. He currently serves as one of their leaders in the West Bank.

He is considered a member of Hamas' extremist faction and refrains from any talk of rapprochement between Israelis and Palestinians.^[1] He is also considered one of the spiritual leaders of Hamas.^[2]

Yousef is married to Sabba Abu Salem. They have six sons and three daughters. His eldest son, Mosab Hassan Yousef, worked undercover with Shin Bet from 1997 to 2007 to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians, as he considered such attacks immoral and destructive to the Palestinian cause. He was disowned by his father but is considered a hero by many Americans as well as Israelis.^[3][4]

On 2 July 2019, Hassan's youngest son Suheib Hassan Yousef appeared in an interview with Israeli television criticizing Hamas and describing it as a corrupt terrorist organization which sparked huge anger from members of Hamas describing him as a traitor and a collaborator and other Hamas-affiliated networks said that he was working with the Mossad which he completely denied.^[5]

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FULL FILM: Praying for Armageddon. US foreign policy in Middle East is influenced by evangelicals

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This post, along with yesterday's at Sudan Watch, is the most important one since the site began 21 years ago.

In 2003, I used blogging technology to investigate the root causes of poverty and extreme poverty in Sudan and the reasons for genocide and man’s inhumanity to man. The two posts now answer those questions for me.

The magnitude of those posts cannot be fully appreciated unless the email and the letter of 24 April 2024 featured in yesterday's post are seen together with the documentary film Praying for Armageddon.

As most readers of Sudan Watch are located across the world, I doubt many can access BBC iPlayer where one has to sign in as a BBC Licence fee payer, I am grateful to Al Jazeera English for posting the full film (see below) in two parts (totalling 88 mins) to YouTube for free viewing and comments.

More on this later when I've been able to identify more pieces of the puzzle. Meanwhile, with respect to American evangelical fundamentalists and the US Government their praying for Armageddon started many years ago.

Poster: Courtesy UpNorth Film

"The poster is a literal presentation of what some of the Evangelical fundamentalists believe, that Jesus will return as a warrior with an AR-15. As they interpret the Armageddon prophecy literally they believe Jesus will come down from the heavens on a white horse. This symbolizes the beginning of Armageddon." -Tonje Hessen Schei, the director of the film

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OFFICIAL TRAILER: Praying for Armageddon 
A documentary film by UpNorth Film
Posted to YouTube by UpNorth Film 
Premiered on 15 March 2023 

Description of Official Trailer posted by UpNorth Film at its website:

The Countdown to Armageddon has begun. As biblical prophecy fuels political power, American Evangelicals threaten U.S. democracy and push for the Apocalypse in the Middle East. Praying for Armageddon uncovers how politicians driven by faith embrace Israel as the key to their prophetic vision for the end of days – at any cost – ultimately escalating the spirals of violence in the Middle East.

Director Tonje Hessen Schei; Co-Director and DOP Michael Rowley; Producer Christian Aune Falch; Producer Torstein Parelius; Producer Ingrid Aune Falch; Editor Torkel Gjørv; Composer Lukas Berkemar, Uno Helmersson; Co-Producer Ove Rishøj Jensen; Co-Producer Magnus Gertten; Co-Producer Hans Robert Eisenhauer; Co-Producer Kaarle Aho.

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Credits posted at YouTube by Al Jazeera English:

World premiere at CPH:DOX 2023 in competition for the F:ACT Award.

www.prayingforarmageddon.com

www.facebook.com/prayingforarmageddon

www.upnorthfilm.no

SUPPORTED BY CREATIVE MEDIA EUROPE

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/75ehG6utzBM

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FULL FILM: Praying for Armageddon (Part 1 of 2)

A documentary film by Tonje Hessen Schei UpNorth Film

Posted to YouTube by Al Jazeera English 1 month ago [April 2024] 

Description by Al Jazeera English posted beneath the film:

Why evangelicals influence US foreign policy in the Middle East | EP1 | Witness Documentary

The first episode of Praying for Armageddon goes inside the evangelical Christian movement to explore its influence on US democracy and foreign policy.

Preparing for the "end times", a grassroots pastor gathers an army of veterans in the heartland of the United States, and megachurch ministers provide spiritual advice to politicians in the nation’s capital.

They call for the "final battle" which they believe will trigger the second coming of Christ. Central to their apocalyptic prophecy is Israel. It is with their blessing that the Trump administration controversially recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moves the US embassy there in 2018.

“It feels like everyone has a say about the destiny and the future of Jerusalem except for the Palestinians living in it,” says Palestinian activist Fayrouz Sharqawi.

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/IhT7oyDlBIk

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FULL FILM: Praying for Armageddon (Part 2 of 2)

A documentary film by Tonje Hessen Schei UpNorth Film

Posted to YouTube by Al Jazeera English 21 March 2024

Description by Al Jazeera English posted beneath the film:

How evangelicals influence US foreign policy in the Middle East | EP2 | Witness Documentary

The second episode of Praying for Armageddon examines the dangerous consequences of the fusion between evangelical Christians and US politics.

It shows not only how the very fabric of US democracy is weakened but also highlights the devastating impact religion wields on US foreign policy.

Expressing concerns about the influence of evangelical Christians in the US military, retired US Army Colonel Larry Wilkerson who was a former adviser to General Colin Powell, says: “The most vivid danger in all of this, I think, is the special relationship with Israel… They are looking for the US relationship with Israel, ultimately to bring about Armageddon and the rapture and Christ’s thousand-year reign.”

As evangelicals fuel the volatile situation in the Middle East, Israel launches a devastating 11-day military offensive on Gaza in May 2021.

“The countdown to Armageddon has begun,” says Pastor Robert Jeffress.

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at YouTube here: https://youtu.be/_iQhbcOgfqw

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A letter from US Republican Senators directly threatening the ICC Prosecutor: “You have been warned” “Target Israel and we will target you”

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Two posts at X copied here below shocked me to my core. I hope they are fake. If they are real, they show the mindset and arrogance of many US politicians and why America is so disliked.

On BBC FOUR iPlayer a documentary film series Storyville is introduced as “amazing, shocking, inspiring and award-winning - the best in international documentaries, shining a light on untold stories from across the globe.” 

One of the films in the series is called Praying for Armageddon. I watched it yesterday, all 88 minutes of it. A description posted beneath the film says:

“Praying for Armageddon is a political thriller that explores the power and influence of American Evangelical Christians as they aim to fulfil the Armageddon prophecy.

The film observes American believers as they prepare for what they call The Holy War and exposes the powerful megachurch pastors who call for the 'final battle' that they believe will trigger the Second Coming of Christ. 

Completed before the current crisis in Israel and Gaza, it also unveils how politicians driven by faith embrace the State of Israel as the key to their prophetic vision for the end of days.” 

I say, it is a must-see and an eye opener into the mentality and attitudes of many Americans including politicians in Washington and ex-POTUS Trump. 

After watching the film, I thought about the two posts mentioned above. Here are the copies. Hopefully, readers can magnify the text to read the content well enough and get a feel of the tone and its sense of entitlement. 

The posts and film are good examples of how the US even after 9/11 can't see itself the way the world sees it. I can't be the only person astonished at the high level of aggressiveness and superiority and the fact that the letter and email are in print for everyone to see. The USA is not even in the Bible.

Same mafia wrote this.#FreeAssange#NewChurchCommitteeOnAssangeCase #EndTheGenocide#SanctionUSA pic.twitter.com/nx7BFthsiY

— jenmarya55 now on Bluesky (@jenmarya55) May 6, 2024 

Source: Dr Lens Veritatis @LensVeritatis post at X 3:13 PM · May 6, 2024

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