THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza and the October 2023 attacks.
The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them. But its practical implications could be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court and several of the Hamas officials have been subsequently killed in the conflict.
A statement said a pre-trial chamber had rejected Israel’s challenges to the court’s jurisdiction and issued warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, BBC reported.
A warrant was also issued for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, although the Israeli military has said he was killed in an air strike in Gaza in July.
The ICC itself lacks an enforcement mechanism and depends on member states to carry out arrests.
“The Chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity,” the three-judge panel wrote in its unanimous decision as cited by Reuters.
In a separate statement, the court also said Deif, full name Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, is subject to international arrest.
The ICC said it “unanimously” decided to issue the warrant against him “for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the territory of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine from at least 7 October 2023”.
Several Israeli officials have responded to the ICC’s arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. In a post on X, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned the court’s decision.
Israel’s former Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman also spoke out against the ruling, writing on X that it shows the international community’s “double standards and hypocrisy”.
Hamas’s political bureau member Bassem Naim welcomed the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, calling it an “important step towards justice”.
“(It’s) an important step towards justice and can lead to redress for the victims in general, but it remains limited and symbolic if it is not supported by all means by all countries around the world,” the Hamas official said in a statement as quoted by AFP.
The United States “fundamentally rejects” a decision by the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, the White House said Thursday.
“We remain deeply concerned by the Prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision. The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter,” a National Security Council spokesperson said.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief has said International Criminal Court arrest warrants are “binding” and should be implemented.
“It is not a political decision. It is a decision of a court, of a court of justice, of an international court of justice. And the decision of the court has to be respected and implemented,” Joseph Borrell said during a visit to the Jordanian capital Amman.
“This decision is a binding decision and all states, all state parties of the court, which include all members of the European Union, are binding to implement this court decision,” he said after a joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi says the International Criminal Court’s decision must be respected and implemented, adding the Palestinians deserved justice after what he termed Israel’s “war crimes” in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.
Meanwhile, the French foreign ministry spokesman says that France’s reaction to the decision will be in line with the court’s statutes.
When asked during a news conference if France would arrest Netanyahu, Christophe Lemoine said it was a legally complicated question. “It’s a point that is legally complex so I’m not going to comment on it today,” he said.
The Netherlands has said it is prepared to act upon the arrest warrant against Netanyahu if needed, Dutch news agency ANP reported, citing the country’s foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp as its source.
Earlier in May, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Joe Biden administration rejected the equivalence between Hamas and Israel in this case, said the ICC had no jurisdiction. He also said the proper place for any case like this is the Israeli legal system.
Situation in the State of Palestine:#ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. Learn more ⤵️ https://t.co/opHUjZG8BL
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) November 21, 2024
Just a few days ago, the incoming US Senate majority leader John Thune threatened sanctions against the ICC, Al Jazeera reported.
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“The ICC does not reverse outrageous and unlawful actions in pursuing arrest warrants against Israeli leaders,” Thune said, adding that the Senate will immediately pass sanctions.
Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have condemned ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for warrants as disgraceful and antisemitic.
US President Joe Biden had also blasted the prosecutor and expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. Hamas had also condemned the request.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in September that it had submitted two legal briefs challenging the ICC’s jurisdiction and arguing that the court did not provide Israel the opportunity to investigate the allegations itself before requesting the warrants.
The role of international law has been under intense scrutiny during Israel’s yearlong war on Gaza, as it’s seen to have failed to deliver the justice and accountability that many people want.
