BRUSSELS - Musician and DiEM25 Advisory Panel member Brian Eno, along with DiEM25 co-founder Yanis Varoufakis, have released an open letter today addressed to the judges of the International Criminal Court, urging immediate action against the war crimes and acts of genocide committed by the Israeli government in Gaza.
On July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem unlawful. However, just five days later, the Israeli Knesset voted 65-9 to reject the ICJ ruling, defiantly asserting that the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem are part of "the Land of Israel." In a further display of disregard for international law and the post-WWII institutions created to uphold it, Israel’s government recently barred UN Secretary-General António Guterres from entering the country.
In their letter, Brian Eno and Yanis Varoufakis highlight the most egregious actions by the Israeli government, stating: “For it is now beyond dispute: Israel’s Government has set out to systematically eliminate every aspect of Palestinian life in Gaza. We have already seen: the most intensive bombing of a densely populated urban area in living memory; the most deliberate starvation of a population since the Second World War; the systematic destruction of health facilities; an unprecedented number of journalists and UN personnel killed.”
The letter is gaining widespread endorsements and is available here.
Providing further context, Yanis Varoufakis explains: “Brian Eno and I believe that the avalanche of war crimes that is building up daily is not just a catastrophic path for Palestinians and Israelis but also a disastrous development for humanity’s self-image, for its soul. After the last world war, under the auspices of the UN, the world’s nations came together to agree to crucial principles of International Law, including Universal Human Rights and appropriate conduct during war."
So, today, on this bleak anniversary, we are appealing to the International Criminal Court to do its duty. To uphold International Law by prosecuting self-evident war crimes in Israel-Palestine, lest genocide becomes normalised across the world.”
A year after a Hamas-led force murdered over a thousand Israeli civilians and abducted many others—clear acts of war crimes—Israel responded with a year-long military campaign that has evolved into a meticulously planned, large-scale genocide. Over 50,000 Palestinians were killed instantly, with more than 200,000 later dying from wounds and disease. Thousands of children have been left maimed, orphaned, and without surviving family members.
Link to the open letter: https://diem25.org/open-letter-to-the-judges-of-the-international-criminal-court/
