Call to prosecute Netanyahu for war crimes exposes the

US and Britain condemn Hamas and Putin, yet balk at attempts to hold Israel’s leaders to account. But no one should be above the law

Indignant protests by Israeli and US leaders over last week’s decision by the prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) to seek Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest for alleged war crimes shone new light on an old reality: for those at the top who wield decisive political power, all people are equal – but some are more equal than others.

At the heart of objections to Karim Khan’s gutsy move is the unspoken implication that violence against Palestinians, a dispossessed, marginalised and largely voiceless people, is less wrong, or somehow more acceptable, than violence against Israelis, the privileged, protected citizens of an established nation state. To demur is to be accused, inanely yet inevitably, of antisemitism.