The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif on war crimes charges related to the Gaza war.
It is the most significant decision in the country's 22-year history, and the first time a leader of a democracy and a country aligned with the West has been indicted by a court.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Prime Minister Gallant would be at risk of arrest if they traveled to any of the 124 countries that signed the Rome Act establishing the tribunal. Israel claims it killed Deif in a July airstrike, but the court's pre-trial court said it would “continue to gather information” to confirm his death.
The court ruled that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant were criminally liable as accomplices in “the war crime of starvation as a means of war.” and crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhuman acts. ”
The three-judge panel also found Deif responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, torture, rape and hostage-taking related to Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. He said he found reasonable grounds to believe that. 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, participated, and 250 were abducted.
The United States criticized the move, with Joe Biden calling the warrant “outrageous” in a statement Thursday night.
“Let me be clear once again: No matter what the ICC says, there is no equal relationship between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against any threats to its security.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office condemned the parliament's decision as “anti-Semitic.”
“Israel completely rejects the false and absurd accusations of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political organization,” the secretariat said in a statement. “There is no more just war than Israel's war in Gaza.” There will be no war,” he added.
The statement pointed to an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, which called for charges against three men in May. Khan, 54, denied the charges and said he would cooperate with the investigation.
“No outrageous anti-Israel decision will prevent us from continuing to defend our country in every way, and neither will I,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. We don't bow to pressure. ”
The US National Security Council issued a statement “fundamentally” rejecting the court's decision. “We remain deeply concerned about the prosecutor's haste to request an arrest warrant and the troubling procedural errors that led to this decision,” the statement said, without providing details on the alleged errors. .
“The United States has been clear that the ICC has no jurisdiction over this matter. We are working with our partners, including Israel, to discuss next steps.”
The US previously welcomed ICC war crimes warrants against President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials for atrocities committed in Ukraine, exposing the Biden administration. to accusations of double standards from many UN member states, especially from the Global South.
Prime Minister Netanyahu can expect greater support from the incoming administration of Donald Trump. During his first term in 2020, President Trump imposed U.S. sanctions on the ICC targeting court officials and their families. Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the sanctions were imposed because the ICC had begun investigating the actions of the United States and its allies in Afghanistan, as well as Israeli military operations in occupied territory.
Britain is expected to comply with the request for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest if he comes to the UK, but Downing Street declined to confirm this directly, saying only that it “respects” the independence of the court. A spokesperson said any request would require a UK-based court process to be approved.
The committee said the full warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant was kept secret “to protect witnesses and the conduct of the investigation,” but the judge made much of its reasoning public. This focused on disrupting the supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which was determined to be intentional.
“The Chamber believes there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and intentionally deprived civilians in Gaza of essential survival items such as food, water, medicine, medical supplies, and even fuel and electricity. ” he said. The written judgment stated:
The order was widely welcomed by human rights groups. Balqis Jarrah, deputy international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said it “breaks down the perception” that certain individuals are above the law.
“The ICC's ability to effectively fulfill its mandate depends on governments' willingness to uphold justice wherever abuses are committed and by whom,” Jara said. “These warrants should finally push the international community to address atrocities and ensure justice for all Palestinian and Israeli victims.”
Israel denies war crimes in Gaza and rejects the court's jurisdiction. However, the pre-trial court noted that the ICC did not need Israeli approval to investigate crimes in the Palestinian territories, as Palestine was admitted as a member of the court in 2015.
The Chamber also noted that Israeli authorities had been informed of the ICC's early investigation in 2021 and that “Israel has chosen not to pursue any request for a postponement of the investigation,” and that Israel's appeal for a stay of the warrant had been made in 2021. also refused.
Regarding Deif, the ICC statement said: “The court finds that there is no reasonable person to believe that Mr. Deif…is responsible for crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence, as well as the war crime of murder. I have found a basis for this.” Cruel treatment, torture, hostage taking, inhuman acts against personal dignity, rape and other forms of sexual violence. ”
Khan had sought warrants from two senior Hamas officials, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, both of whom were killed in the conflict. Israel's claim that Deif was killed has not been confirmed or denied by Hamas.
Benny Gantz, a former general and political opponent of Prime Minister Netanyahu, condemned the ICC's decision, saying it showed “moral blindness” and was a “shameful stain on history that will never be forgotten.” Fellow opposition leader Yair Lapid called it a “prize of terror”.
The warrant was issued at a sensitive time for Mr. Khan, who is facing an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. The Guardian reported last month that the investigation will look into allegations against the prosecutor, including allegations of coercion and abuse of power, as well as allegations of unwanted sexual contact and prolonged “abuse.” is included. The alleged victim, a 30-year-old ICC lawyer, had previously declined to comment.
The arrest warrant could increase external pressure on Netanyahu's government as the US seeks to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but in the short term the prime minister's There is a good chance that the political position of as interference in one's own country's internal affairs..
Biden said he did not believe Netanyahu was doing enough to secure a ceasefire after the prime minister vowed not to compromise on Israel's control of strategic territory in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Netanyahu accused Hamas of failing to negotiate in good faith.
