Italy joins France and Poland in undermining international law to grant immunity to war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu.

the spectre of the 'rules-based order' has long faded in a world hanging off the edge.

Good day, spectators,

And today’s unsurprising yet deeply disheartening news comes from Italy, where the so-called rules-based international order has once again been exposed as a scam. During recent diplomatic talks in Rome, Israeli officials received assurances from their Italian counterparts that war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu would be safe to visit the country without fear of arrest.

Yes, that is correct: Italy, a member of the EU and a supposed champion of international law will be joining other European countries to grant a free pass to a man facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Italian officials reportedly informed Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that their government had reviewed legal advice and concluded Netanyahu would enjoy immunity during visits to Italy. Their justification? The Vienna Convention, which grants immunity to heads of state during official visits.

Using the Vienna Convention as a shield to protect someone who has overseen massacres, illegal annexations, and apartheid policies is, in my opinion, execrable.

together with France and Poland.

Italy isn’t alone in setting fire to its obligations under international law. Just a few days ago, I told you Poland would also grant immunity to Netanyahu if he chose to visit. This move flagrantly undermines the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Rome Statute—the very legal framework Poland is bound by.

France, too, has quietly but surely guaranteed Netanyahu’s immunity. These nations, all signatories to the ICC mind you, are effectively telling the world that international law applies only to non-Western leaders. The West has made it abundantly clear that its rules don’t apply to its allies. Yet, they seem to think that the rest of the world isn’t watching, or doesn’t care when the reality is quite the opposite—the Global South is appalled.

anyone else?

The Netherlands has dipped its toes into the pond of hypocrisy as well. While it hasn’t clearly rejected the ICC’s decision, Dutch officials have hinted at “options” for Netanyahu to visit without facing arrest. What does this actually mean? Well, The Hague—the home of the International Criminal Court—might soon be hosting a man wanted for crimes against humanity.

And let’s not kid ourselves: the United Kingdom and Germany are unlikely to risk arresting Netanyahu either. Why? Because doing so would open the floodgates for their own leaders to face accountability for their complicity in war crimes. The precedent keeps them up at night.

the rules-based order is gone.

This now-exponential erosion of the so-called rules-based international order is infuriating and bizarrely illuminating. We’ve always been told these rules exist to protect global stability, to uphold justice, and to prevent the powerful from trampling on the weak and all these other nice platitudes. Yet here we are, watching Western nations shred these rules to protect their friends and themselves.

What’s the point of having an International Criminal Court if its decisions are ignored by the very nations that claim to uphold it? If accountability is selectively applied, then the entire system is pointless.

Of course, tearing down what little remains of this broken order is a dangerous proposition. A world without even a veneer of international law might be terrifying—but for millions of people living under occupation, apartheid, or in the rubble of war-torn regions, the current system is already a nightmare:

Gaza, 2024.

Maybe, and just maybe, the collapse of these hollow institutions is what’s needed to rebuild something better—something that serves us, the majority of working-class people, not the few politicians and rich oligarchs. Maybe I am just being optimistic.

Until then, spectators, we can’t do much but continue to watch as the West’s hypocrisy lights the fuse to more chaos.

And on that thought, I will let you go. Please let me know what you think in the comments section below, I love the discussion.

(As always, thanks for reading and please give this post a ❤️ and restack below.)

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Read more from the spectacle…

Poland is planning to make a mockery out of international law by hosting war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu.

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