I recently wrote about the “diplomatic tsunami” facing Israel over its war in and on Gaza. Three events on that theme emerged over the past week.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday night unveiled a three-step plan to end the war on Gaza and return the hostages to Israel. The U.S. is urging Israel to accept the deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would not agree to a permanent cease-fire until “the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.”1
The Maldives government has announced a ban on Israeli passport holders visiting the Indian Ocean archipelago’s luxury resorts. It cited Israel’s war on Gaza as the reason.
These moves came after a blockbuster story about Israel’s “spying, hacking and intimidation” of the International Criminal Court by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call. (I wrote last month about Khan’s request for arrest warrants of Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.)
Israeli intelligence captured the communications of numerous ICC officials, including [Karim] Khan and his predecessor as prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, intercepting phone calls, messages, emails and documents.
The surveillance was ongoing in recent months, providing Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with advance knowledge of the prosecutor’s intentions. A recent intercepted communication suggested that Khan wanted to issue arrest warrants against Israelis but was under “tremendous pressure from the United States,” according to a source familiar with its contents.2
When I wrote about the pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Toronto, I wrote that a pressure point might arrive before the university’s June’s commencement. I was wrong. The encampment is still there, and graduation is getting underway.
This story can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/28/spying-hacking-intimidation-israel-war-icc-exposed