War in Gaza: Arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Hamas representatives

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Joaw Gallant for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu and Galant are therefore suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip since October 8, 2023.

The court finds sufficient grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Galant “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in the Gaza Strip of essential items for their survival, including food, water, medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.” The tribunal based in The Hague, Netherlands, announced this on Thursday.

Another statement said that an arrest warrant had also been issued against the military chief of the radical Islamic Hamas, Al-Masri. Hamas leader Al-Masri – known as Deif – has been wanted since October 7 for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He is believed to have been killed in an Israeli bombing raid in the Gaza Strip. However, there was never any official confirmation of his death. Deif would be the last living Hamas representative for whom Khan requested an arrest warrant. Jahja Sinwar, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniya were killed by Israel in recent months.

The judges in The Hague agreed to a request from chief prosecutor Karim Khan. He applied for the arrest warrants in May. Netanyahu and other leading Israeli politicians then condemned it as anti-Semitic. Netanyahu called the accuser “one of the great anti-Semites of the modern age.”

US President Joe Biden also criticized prosecutor Khan and spoke out in favor of Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. A spokesman for the Washington National Security Council fleshed out Biden’s criticism on Thursday: The US was “deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s haste to request arrest warrants and the troubling procedural errors that led to this decision.” From the US government’s perspective, the ICC “does not have jurisdiction in this matter.”

Israel’s government could still be further isolated internationally as a result of the court’s decision. This could also further complicate efforts to reach a ceasefire to end the 13-month conflict. Other countries, such as France, supported the criminal court.

Israel and its main ally, the United States, are not parties to the Court. Neither the USA nor Israel recognize the criminal court. But the Palestinian territories are a contracting state. The court had already determined in 2021 that it also had jurisdiction over areas that had been occupied by Israel since 1967.

Israel’s President Izchak Herzog reacted to the decree with outrage and sharp criticism. “This is a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity,” he wrote on X. He spoke of a scandalous decision that the court made with bad intentions. Israel has never acceded to the Rome Statute of the ICC and does not recognize the court.

The World Criminal Court does not recognize any immunity for heads of state or government. As early as 2023, it issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for possible war crimes in Ukraine. However, the court based in The Hague has no ability to execute the arrest warrants. The International Court of Justice does not have its own police force to enforce its arrest warrants and therefore relies on the cooperation of the 124 member states.

In theory, they are obliged to arrest those they are looking for as soon as they are in their territory. This could make it more difficult for Netanyahu and Gallant to travel to the EU, for example. Because the US is not a member of the ICC, it does not have to execute these arrest warrants.

The International Criminal Court’s investigations are independent of ongoing proceedings into the violence in the Gaza Strip before the International Court of Justice. This highest UN court, also based in The Hague, wants to resolve disputes between states. South Africa had sued Israel for genocide before this court.

The article will be continually updated.