Rafah Civilians Sacrificed in a Sick US-Israel Geopolitical Gamble

For those who have been keen observers of Middle Eastern politics, October 7 should not have come as a surprise – the decades-long oppression of Palestinians was an expectation that an uprising of sorts might eventually occur.

For those who were not aware, the October 7 attack by Hamas was a shock, but it also unveiled the harsh realities of what Israel truly is, and what Palestinians have endured for decades.

The international community quickly became acquainted with the history of the Palestinian people’s plight under Israel’s brutal occupation and enforced apartheid.

What was more disturbing for the world has been the barbarity of the Israelis - witnessing in real time an unprecedented genocide - while the West overlooked the atrocities to maintain a relationship with a country lacking in humanity or moral conscience.

Israel’s quest for regional dominance has always been driven by fear. And it has been Iran’s retaliatory strike on Israel following April 14, in response to Israel’s April 1 bombing of Iran’s embassy in Damascus, that has shifted the balance of power in the region.

Deterrence dominance now rests with Iran. Iran’s cautionary strike not only sent a message to the Americans and Israelis about Iran’s capabilities, it also prompted the US to intervene swiftly to prevent Israel from retaliating.

Gaza has been a failure for Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, yet Israel has its sights set on Rafah, with the lives of the people there to be sacrificed.

A decision that has sparked global outrage and drawing severe criticism from human rights organizations, the Biden administration has endorsed Israel’s strategy on Rafah, aimed at deterring Israeli strikes on Iran.

The US’s endorsement of this policy not only implicates it in genocide and murder but also highlights a deeply troubling chapter in US-Middle East relations.

The decision, made in closed-door negotiations to greenlight the move, secured a commitment from Israel to delay any planned military attacks against Iranian nuclear facilities. Trading Palestinian lives for geopolitical strategy not only represents a profound moral failure but also sets a precedent for future diplomatic engagements in the region.

Sacrificing the lives of the people of Gaza is a decision by the US which it has determined that Palestinian are mere pawns in a broader game of Middle Eastern politics.

The Biden administration's reasoning behind its decision is to avert a larger conflict with Iran, yet it’s the ethical implications of such sordid calculations that have led to accusations of direct involvement in war crimes.

Compounding the controversy are the grim discoveries at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Over 700 bodies were found in mass graves, wrapped in Israeli body bags.

Innocent Palestinians and hospital medical staff were discovered with gunshot wounds to the back of the head – evidence of an execution rather than casualties of war.

What continues to become abundantly clear is the Biden administration's ongoing silence about the horrific war crimes Israel continues to commit – which the world know is beginning to see as an endorsement of Israel’s atrocities.

Human rights groups and international observers have called for an independent investigation into the killings, urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to initiate a war crimes inquiry.

Images and testimonies emerging from Gaza paint a disturbingly horrific picture of brutality - contradicting the Biden administration’s public advocacy for human rights and justice.

As the White House has consistently done since October 7, rather than condemn Israel for its brutal, obscene war crimes, it obfuscates the facts. Instead of condemning Israel for the scale of violence, it has issued a carefully worded statement emphasizing the need for "all parties to reduce escalation and protect civilians."

Tiptoeing around the issue via the use of diplomatic language does little to address the concerns of the international community and the Palestinian people.

Within the US, the policy has stirred considerable controversy with lawmakers labeling the executions as "state-sanctioned massacres"

The European Union a staunch ally of the US, is now expressing deep concerns about the Biden administration's policies in the Middle East - calling for an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the US and Israel’s handling of Gaza.

Regardless of whether the strategic calculations happens to put a halt to any immediate military tensions with Iran, its at what cost?

The long-term consequences of trading moral integrity for tactical gains are profound. It’s a policy that will not only destabilize the Middle East but could irreparably damage America's global reputation.

While the Biden administration attempts to navigate what is clearly a geopolitical mess of its own making, the ethical, strategic, and political implications of its policies continue to unfold.

The horrifying discoveries at Al Shifa Hospital are a grim reminder of Israel’s offensiveness as a nation,

Green-lighting Israel’s move on Rafah, coupled with the gruesome discovery of mass graves in Gaza, have intensified calls for an international legal reckoning.

A growing international chorus is now demanding the policy architects in the US and Israel are held accountable for war crimes, with the ICC as the venue for such a historic prosecution.

Using the lives of Palestinians as leverage in geopolitical negotiations to deter Israeli strikes on Iran grossly violates international humanitarian law. The doctrine of command responsibility places US and Israeli officials at the forefront of the ICC - implicating leaders who either knew or should have known about the executions and yet failed to prevent them.

Beyond the ICC, the principle of universal jurisdiction could allow courts in countries like Germany, Spain, or even Canada to prosecute officials from the US and Israel if the ICC fails to act.

Former war criminals like Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic and Liberia's Charles Taylor have already been prosecuted by international courts, setting a precedent, however, the ICC has never targeted American officials - the time has come however, that the ICC does target the US leadership for war crimes against humanity.

The US leadership should not be immune from criminal prosecution - many high-ranking US officials been committing war crimes for the last 60 years. Being an American shouldn’t give them an exemption.

If Biden or any high-ranking US officials were implicated in an ICC probe, it could lead to unprecedented diplomatic strain, cooling the mutual support that has characterized bilateral relations for decades.

The ICC must step and prevent any mass slaughter taking in place - Palestinian are not livestock to be slaughtered to appease the shame of loss by a disturbed nation.