...While Khan’s decision will no doubt be applauded by the...

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While Khan’s decision will no doubt be applauded by the pro-Hamas mobs at Harvard Yard and the Columbia Quad, this will be an unconscionable and unprecedented misuse of the law, upending the very framework upon which the international legal order is based.

The ICC was established in 2002 as “a court of last resort,” with the primary goal of ending impunity for those accused of the most heinous of crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

It was never intended to be applied in the Orwellian circumstances of prosecuting Israeli leaders as they defend the Jewish state against the murderers and rapists of Hamas and seek to bring back hostages held captive by the terror group in Gaza.

The IDF has gone to unprecedented lengths, not seen in the history of modern warfare, to abide by the laws of war and avoid harm to civilians, even when doing so has put the IDF’s own soldiers at risk. This has included warning of impending attacks and creating safe corridors for civilians to evacuate through. They have done this while continuing to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid and supplies, including more than 25,000 aid trucks to date, notwithstanding Hamas continuing to intercept and syphon much of this aid.

Even Karim Khanhas stated, during a visit to Israel after the October massacre, that “Israel has trained lawyers who advise commanders and a robust system intended to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.” This should have automatically precluded even entertaining the idea to exercise jurisdiction — how quickly must have Khan forgotten his own words?

Not only is there absolutely no legal basis to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, doing so now would only reward Hamas and unleash a further firestorm of antisemitism