In a statement, the foreign ministry said France would 'respect its international obligations' but added that the Israeli leader was covered by immunity rules that apply to states that are not a party to the ICC.
Netanyahu isn’t a dictator any more than any other Western bourgeois democratic leader. The genocide he and those around them carry out is very popular in Israel. It is a deeply racist society premised on the hatred and subjugation od the Palestinians from whom they steal land and resources and life.
Since he’s elected under apartheid, he kinda is a dictator even if he has popular support among the people Israel allows to vote. The terminology isn’t a good fit, but if everyone in so-called “Greater Israel” was allowed to vote their government would look very different.
Apartheid ethnostates could never be considered democratic, of course. Though if we think in terms of imperialism, this also indicts virtually every so-called democracy. France’s control over several African countries, for example. They don’t get to vote for their de facto “president” yet France controls their currency, debts, exports, etc. While not identical to apartheid, the idea of an ethnic supremacist culture ruling over people who had no explicit say in who rules is the status quo for the imperial core.
It’s important to not think of Netanyahu as a singular force for evil as if he is somehow separate from “Israeli” society. His unpopularity since October 7 comes not from displeasure over genocide or any other violence done to Palestinians - when that ramps up, his ratings improve - but because the wider “Israeli” public actually wants more blood, more domination, to restore their sense of complete superiority and security.
Although another thing to consider is Netanyahu would probably have been removed from office for corruption charges if it weren’t for the war, and he might decide to keep the war going indefinitely to stay in power. Very dictator-like
“Israeli” media is constantly censored. Haartez is being newly targeted by censors because they didn’t back down on publishing basic facts about “Israeli” forces firing on concertgoers on October 7. These are not unpopular moves. A supermajority of “Israelis”, for example, believe media should be censored so as to not show Palestinians in a sympathetic light.
Netanyahu isn’t a dictator any more than any other Western bourgeois democratic leader. The genocide he and those around them carry out is very popular in Israel. It is a deeply racist society premised on the hatred and subjugation od the Palestinians from whom they steal land and resources and life.
Since he’s elected under apartheid, he kinda is a dictator even if he has popular support among the people Israel allows to vote. The terminology isn’t a good fit, but if everyone in so-called “Greater Israel” was allowed to vote their government would look very different.
Apartheid ethnostates could never be considered democratic, of course. Though if we think in terms of imperialism, this also indicts virtually every so-called democracy. France’s control over several African countries, for example. They don’t get to vote for their de facto “president” yet France controls their currency, debts, exports, etc. While not identical to apartheid, the idea of an ethnic supremacist culture ruling over people who had no explicit say in who rules is the status quo for the imperial core.
It’s important to not think of Netanyahu as a singular force for evil as if he is somehow separate from “Israeli” society. His unpopularity since October 7 comes not from displeasure over genocide or any other violence done to Palestinians - when that ramps up, his ratings improve - but because the wider “Israeli” public actually wants more blood, more domination, to restore their sense of complete superiority and security.
All good points.
Although another thing to consider is Netanyahu would probably have been removed from office for corruption charges if it weren’t for the war, and he might decide to keep the war going indefinitely to stay in power. Very dictator-like
if it is highly popular why is he so keen to silence all media including israeli media like haartz? https://www.axios.com/2024/11/25/israeli-government-votes-to-boycott-haaretz
“Israeli” media is constantly censored. Haartez is being newly targeted by censors because they didn’t back down on publishing basic facts about “Israeli” forces firing on concertgoers on October 7. These are not unpopular moves. A supermajority of “Israelis”, for example, believe media should be censored so as to not show Palestinians in a sympathetic light.
May I ask how do you know how many Israelis support media censorship? Is there a poll data somewhere I could look at?
Here’s one reported by Haaretz itself: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-09-05/ty-article/.premium/poll-majority-of-israelis-back-censoring-gaza-war-posts-exposing-jewish-arab-divide/00000191-c119-de0a-afd5-d959c4d20000