Israeli historian links Netanyahu's aggression to his case in international war crimes tribunal

Israeli historian and professor Ilan Pappe said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aggressive policies are tied to the ongoing case against him at the International Criminal Court (ICC), asserting that Netanyahu seeks to delay the proceedings by escalating regional conflicts.

Speaking to Anadolu, Pappe said Netanyahu is aiming to deflect attention from the ICC case, especially as it reaches a critical stage.

"He is very much interested in not attracting attention to his trial and the fact that he's now in the very difficult part of the trial, where he's being questioned by the prosecutor. He's using the excuse of Gaza and the war of Iran to say you have to postpone the trial for two or three years because we're going to have a long war. So that's his personal ambition," Pappe said.

He added that Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners, particularly the messianic Zionists, are driven by an ideological vision of expanding Israeli control well beyond the current borders.

"The allies are messianic Zionists who really believe that this is a window of opportunity to use force in order to totally change the reality and create not only a Greater Israel over the West Bank and Gaza but even beyond. They have this dream of what they have read in the Old Testament, the Torah, and the Bible of a great ancient Israeli kingdom that everybody is terrified from in the region and can have even more extended space under its control."

Pappe warned that, while the US stance has remained largely unchanged, some European leaders have begun to make unprecedented calls for sanctions or partial sanctions on Israel.

However, he emphasized that these must be followed by concrete actions and increased political pressure.

He pointed out that any binding decision in the European Union requires unanimity, which is opposed by Israel's allies such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Estonia.

When discussing the broader silence or complicity of European governments, Pappe emphasized the lasting impact of the Holocaust.

He also criticized today's European leadership: "Probably we are dealing with a young generation of politicians who are very self-centered, very low caliber, (and) not very interested in any vision, not leaders. They are only worried of being re-elected again. And as long as they would think that supporting Israel is good for the next election, they would support Israel. Not supporting Israel is not good for the next election, and then we might see a change in their political views."

On accusations of rising antisemitism, Pappe said the narrative is misleading.

"There are anti-Semites in the world, no doubt. People who hate Jews because they are Jews,” he pointed out, highlighting: “But Israel likes to say that anybody who is against Zionism or even criticizes Israel is also anti-Semitic. That is not true.”

“So, I'm not sure there is a rise of anti-Semitism,” he stated. “I think there is a rise of people who are very angry with what Israel is doing.”

“Some of them cannot hold their anger and do things that probably they shouldn't do. A lot of them do the right thing (and) join protests, the solidarity movement,” he said, adding: “A lot of the people who are involved now in solidarity with the Palestinians are Jewish. So it cannot be antisemitic.”

“I mean, so many of the leading voices against the genocide in America, for instance, are Jewish voices, and therefore, I think it's an Israeli propaganda that antisemitism is on the rise,” he emphasized.

“Anti-Israelism, if you want, is on the rise. But for good reason. And I think we should be careful not accepting their definition of antisemitism."

Pappe concluded that solidarity with Palestinians is not antisemitic, noting that many Jewish individuals are at the forefront of the movement against Israeli actions in Gaza.