Judges from the International Criminal Court (ICC) have issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister, Netanyahu and former defense minister, as well as Hamas’ military commander.
According to a statement, a pre-trial chamber dismissed Israel’s claims to the court’s jurisdiction and issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.
A warrant was also issued for Hamas’ Mohammed Deif, despite Israel claims he was killed in an air attack in Gaza in July.
The judges determined that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe the three individuals had “criminal responsibility” for suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel’s war with Hamas. Both Israel and Hamas have denied the charges.
The Israeli prime minister’s office called the ICC’s decision “antisemitic,” while Hamas stated the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant set a “important historical precedent.”
The impact of these warrants will be determined in part by whether the ICC’s 124 member states, which exclude Israel and its main supporter, the United States, decide to implement them or not.
The White House issued a statement rejecting the ICC verdict.
However, the EU’s foreign policy leader stated that it must be recognized and enforced.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been a part of the global judicial system since 2002.
It has the competence to try anyone accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes on the territory of states that have signed the Rome Statute, which is its founding treaty.
Israel is not a member of the ICC and denies its jurisdiction, but the court determined in 2021 that it had jurisdiction over the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza after the UN secretary general acknowledged the Palestinians’ membership to the Rome Statute.
ICC issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas commander
In May, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan obtained arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, Deif, and two other Hamas leaders who have since been assassinated, Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar.
Although Israel believes Deif is dead, the chamber stated that the ICC prosecution had informed it that it was unable to determine whether he had been killed or was still alive.
What are the charges?
The prosecutor’s case against them originates from the events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters assaulted southern Israel, murdering around 1,200 people and transporting 251 others back to Gaza as hostages.
Following the incident, Israel launched a military campaign to eradicate Hamas, killing at least 44,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
For Deif, the court determined that there was probable cause to believe he’s “responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other form of sexual violence; as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture; taking hostages; outrages upon personal dignity; and rape and other form of sexual violence” .
It also stated that there were substantial grounds to assume the crimes against humanity were “part of a widespread and systematic attack directed by Hamas and other armed groups against the civilian population of Israel”.
For Netanyahu and Gallant, who was replaced as defense minister earlier this month, the chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that they “each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
It also established reasonable grounds to assume that “each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”.
According to the Israeli prime minister’s office, Israel “utterly rejects the false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court”.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to give in to pressure. He will continue to pursue all of Israel’s objectives in its righteous war against Hamas and the Iranian axis of evil,” it said.
Gallant, who was dismissed as defence minister earlier this month, had no immediate reply.
However, in May, he forcefully rejected the ICC prosecutor’s arrest warrant demands, citing a “despicable” similarity between Israel and Hamas and an attempt to undermine his country’s right to self-defense.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the chamber’s ruling as “outrageous” and claimed that the ICC had “turned universal justice into a universal laughing stock”.
“The decision has chosen the side of terror and evil over democracy and freedom, and turned the very system of justice into a human shield for Hamas’ crimes against humanity,” added the attorney general.
Hamas praised the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, stating that they “constitute an important historical precedent, and a correction to a long path of historical injustice against our people.”
It also urged countries around the world to implement the warrants and act to end “the crimes of genocide against defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip.”
Israel has categorically denied that its forces are conducting genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
According to Human Rights Watch, the warrants for the three men “break through the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law”.
“Whether the ICC can effectively deliver on its mandate will depend on governments’ willingness to support justice no matter where abuses are committed or by whom,” said Balkees Jarrah, the campaign group’s associate international justice director.
A White House National Security Council official stated that the US “fundamentally rejects” the court’s verdict.
“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” a White House National Security Council official said.
“The United States has stated unequivocally that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this dispute. We are coordinating next moves with partners, including Israel.”
However, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated that it was “not a political decision”.
“The court’s decision must be respected and implemented,” he said, emphasizing that it applied to all EU member states.
Netanyahu’s most recent abroad visit was to the United States in July. Last year, he visited numerous additional nations, including the United Kingdom.
