An astute friend recently observed that today’s crisis in the Middle East boils down to one question about two dates: Which historic moment is likelier to be reversed: 1948 or 1979?
The dates are references to the creation of the state of Israel and, 31 years later, the Iranian revolution.
Recent days have brought two potential vehicles for their downfall into focus.
There was, first, the announcement from Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, that he would apply for arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of Israel.
The decision is unlikely to ever lead to any arrests, much less to criminal convictions: The Biden administration has already denounced the decision, and even countries less friendly to Israel are unlikely to arrest the leader of a nation with nuclear weapons and a powerful intelligence agency.
Persons:
Karim Khan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Israel, Biden
Organizations:
Criminal
Locations:
Israel