IRIA News

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has formally applied to seek the arrest warrants of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The two, along with other leaders, have been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20, 2024, that his office had applied for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders. Khan said that his office had “reasonable grounds“ to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant bear “criminal responsibility” for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

“Nobody is above the law,” said Khan as he and his team announced the charges formally in a statement and a video address.

Khan has also applied for arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (known as Deif), and Ismail Haniyeh, against similar charges. He stated that his team has found evidence suggesting that Israel has “intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival.“

#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC announces applications for arrest warrants in relation to Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Deif) and Ismail Haniyeh in the context of the situation in the State of #Palestine ⤵️https://t.co/WqDZecXFZq pic.twitter.com/yXsuzKYlqJ

— Int’l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) May 20, 2024

“This took place alongside other attacks on civilians, including those queuing for food; obstruction of aid delivery by humanitarian agencies; and attacks on and killing of aid workers, which forced many agencies to cease or limit their operations in Gaza,” he said in his statement adding that Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip by closing the border crossings and restricting the transfer of food, water, and medical supplies was part of an Israeli plan to use starvation as a “method of war”.

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are not facing immediate arrest, the announcement by the ICC’s chief prosecutor dealt a symbolic blow to their stature in the international community, further isolating Israel amid the Gaza conflict.

Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court, so even if arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant would not be immediately prosecuted at ICC. However, the threat of arrest could complicate international travel for the Israeli leaders.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said that the decision to apply for arrest warrants for the five people was made after seeing advice from a panel of experts. They include Sir Adrian Fulford, a former ICC judge; Baroness Helena Kennedy; Elizabeth Wilmshurst; Theodor Meron, former president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.

Israel’s response to arrest request

Israel’s leadership had been working through diplomatic channels to prevent the issuance of the ICC warrants since the case was brought to the platform. Netanyahu denounced the prosecutor’s accusations against him as a “disgrace” and an attack on the Israeli military and the entire nation. He vowed to continue Israel’s war against Hamas.

Israeli war Cabinet member Benny Gantz, a political rival of Netanyahu who recently threatened to resign if the government did not adopt a new plan for the war in Gaza, condemned the ICC’s announcement.

“Placing the leaders of a country that went into battle to protect its citizens, in the same line with bloodthirsty terrorists, is moral blindness and a violation of its duty and ability to protect its citizens,” he said in a post on Twitter.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog called the ICC decision “beyond outrageous,” saying that it “shows the extent to which the international judicial system is in danger of collapsing.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the decision a “disaster”, while far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the decision was a “show of hypocrisy and Jew-hatred”.

Biden calls ICC arrest request ‘outrageous’

U.S. President Joe Biden also lashed out at the prosecutor for putting Israeli leadership and Hamas on the same page. He supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. President Biden said the ICC prosecutor’s desire to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant was “outrageous,” adding “Whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence, none, between Israel and Hamas.” He reiterated that the United States “will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States rejects the ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants for Israeli officials and Hamas. “We reject the Prosecutor’s equivalence of Israel with Hamas. It is shameful,” he said in a statement, adding that “the United States has been clear since well before the current conflict that the ICC has no jurisdiction over this matter.”

Blinken further said the move could jeopardize diplomacy for a ceasefire and a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas’s response

Hamas also denounces the ICC prosecutor’s request to arrest its leaders. A statement by Hamas said that “the attempts of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to equate the victim with the executioner by issuing arrest warrants against a number of Palestinian resistance leaders.”

The ICC, located in the Hague, Netherlands, has the authority to bring charges against individuals for war crimes and related offenses. It operates independently from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which adjudicates cases between states. Currently, the International Court of Justice is also investigating allegations of genocide by Israel in Gaza.