The World Court Prejudges the Victim of Mass Atrocities but Ignores the Perpetrators

Israeli soldiers carry the rules of law in their backpacks. Hamas fighters aren’t subject to any comparable normative restraints.

A general view of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, on April 12, 2006. Michel Porro/Getty Images

Commentary

In the early hours of Feb. 12, after intense aerial strikes on Rafah and firefights in a crowded residential neighborhood, Israeli forces rescued two hostages who had been abducted on Oct. 7, 2023. Nearly 70 Palestinians were reportedly killed in the two-hour raid. Two mosques and more than a dozen houses were hit. One Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in the operation.