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The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yves Gallant on charges of “crimes against humanity and war crimes”.
The move is a dramatic increase in legal proceedings over Israel’s aggression in Gaza, and is the first time the court, established in 2002, has issued a warrant for a Western-backed leader.
This means that the ICC’s 124 member states – which include most European and Latin American countries and many in Africa and Asia – can arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they enter their territory. Will be bound. But the court has no means of enforcing the warrant if it does not.
But the warrants will reinforce the sense that Israel is increasingly isolated internationally for waging its war against Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Announcing the verdict on Thursday, the court said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.” And crimes against humanity of murder, torture and other inhuman acts.”
It said there were also reasonable grounds to believe that the pair “bears criminal responsibility for the war crime of deliberately directing an attack against a civilian population”, and that Gazans have been deprived of food, water, Medical supplies, fuel and “deliberately and willfully deprived”. electricity
The court added that it had unanimously decided to reject Israel’s appeal against the jurisdiction of the ICC. Neither Israel nor its main ally, the United States, are members of this court.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office called the decision to issue the warrant “anti-Semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the ridiculous and false actions and accusations against it”, calling the ICC “a biased and Distinguished political institution”.
“No anti-Israel resolution will prevent the State of Israel from protecting its citizens,” he said. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not bow to pressure or back down until Israel achieves all of the war goals set out at the start of the campaign.”
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Daef for crimes against humanity and war crimes for the militant group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that fueled the war in Gaza. Israel said in August that it had killed Def in an airstrike in Gaza a month earlier.
The warrants provoked mixed international reactions. Mike Waltz, who will serve as national security adviser to Donald Trump’s administration when he takes office in the United States next year, said the ICC has “no credibility” and that “the US government made these allegations.” Denied”.
“You can expect a strong response from the ICC and the UN against anti-Semitism in January,” he wrote on X.
However, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said the warrants were not political and the court’s decision should be respected and implemented.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan originally sought warrants in May for Netanyahu, Gallant, Def and two other Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, both of whom Israel has killed.
The move by the ICC comes at a time when Israel is facing severe criticism over the number of its aggression in Gaza, which has fueled the humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave.
The hostilities began when Hamas militants stormed Israel in October last year, besieging communities in the country’s south, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
In response, Israel launched a massive attack on Gaza, with Gallant declaring a “total siege” of the Strip. According to Palestinian officials, Israel’s offensive has so far killed nearly 44,000 people, displaced 1.9 million of its 2.3 million inhabitants and reduced much of it to rubble.
The United Nations and aid agencies have repeatedly criticized Israel for restricting aid flows to the strip while warning of the risk of famine and disease outbreaks.
The fight has also triggered legal action at the International Court of Justice, which deals with cases against states rather than individuals.
That court, the highest in the UN system, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has strongly denied these allegations.
