The International Criminal Court on Thursday announced that it has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of committing war crimes against the civilian population of Gaza.
The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Deif for his role in the October 2023 attack that triggered Israel’s war on the besieged Palestinian enclave. The court’s chief prosecutor withdrew the request for arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, who have been killed in the conflict.
A statement from the court said that its Pre-Trial Chamber at Hague “issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest”.
The court unanimously dismissed Israel’s challenge to the court’s jurisdiction over the “Situation in the State of Palestine” case, noting that the “acceptance by Israel of the Court’s jurisdiction is not required, as the Court can exercise its jurisdiction on the basis of territorial jurisdiction of Palestine”.
The court also said that Israel’s challenge was premature as states are not entitled to challenge the international court’s jurisdiction under Article 19(2) of the Rome Statute prior to the issuance of an arrest warrant.
The Rome Statute says that every State has to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes.
The court said it found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant “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”.
Netanyahu’s office rejected the decision, describing the court’s actions as “anti-Semitic”.
“Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions levelled against it by ICC,” his office said in a statement, reported AP.
The arrest warrants come in the second year of the Israeli military’s offensive against Gaza.
The offensive began on October 7, 2023, after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking over 200 hostages.
Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then, killing more than 44,000 persons including nearly 16,700 children.
The war has displaced nearly the entire population of the region, compounded by a blockade causing severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, pushing people to the brink of starvation.
On January 26, the International Court of Justice ruled in a case filed by South Africa saying that Israel must take measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.
The top United Nations court, however, stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in the region.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!