THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas's military chief Mohammed Deif.
"The Chamber 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 ICC said in a statement.
The ICC's move theoretically limits the movement of Netanyahu, as any of the court's 124 national members would be obliged to arrest him on their territory.
Human rights groups and Hamas welcomed the move.
The warrants against both sides “break through the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law,” the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, Balkees Jarrah, said in a statement.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu is now officially a wanted man," said Amnesty Secretary General Agnes Callamard.
"This step represents a significant historical precedent and a correction to a long history of injustice against our people, alongside the concerning disregard for the heinous violations our people have endured over 76 years of fascist occupation," Hamas said in a statement.
"We call on the ICC to expand its scale of accountability to include all the occupation criminal leaders, ministers, and fascist military officers, who have perpetrated atrocities against our Palestinian people and committed the most heinous acts of killing, terrorism and starvation known to modern history," Hamas added, though it refused to comment on the warrant against its military chief Deif.
Israel said in early August it had killed Deif in an air strike in southern Gaza in July, but Hamas has not confirmed his death. The court said it had issued the arrest warrant as the prosecutor had not been able to determine whether or not Deif was dead.
The unprecedented move drew a furious reaction from Netanyahu, who denounced it as "anti-semitic."
"Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and accusations made against it," he said.
Israel's closest allies, including the United States, also denounced the warrants against the Israeli politicians.
The court said it had found "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
The ICC said the pair were also criminally responsible "for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population".
The court alleged both men "intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival", including food, water, medicine, fuel, and electricity.
Regarding the war crime of starvation, it said the "lack of food, water, electricity and fuel, and specific medical supplies, created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza".
This resulted in civilian deaths including of children, due to malnutrition and dehydration, the court charged.
It said it had not yet determined if "all elements of the crime against humanity of extermination were met," the court said.
However, judges did say there were reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of murder had been committed in relation to these victims.
Washington denounced the warrants against Israel.
"We remain deeply concerned by the Prosecutor's rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision," said a National Security Council spokesperson.
"The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter."
Argentina's president, Javier Milei, also expressed his country's "deep disagreement".
Noting the repeated attacks on Israel's population, he argued: "Criminalizing the legitimate defence of a nation while ignoring these atrocities is an act that distorts the spirit of international justice."
Speaking from Jordan, the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell noted: "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."
Secret warrants
The warrants had initially been classified as "secret" to protect witnesses and safeguard the conduct of the investigations, the court said.
They decided to make the public "since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing", it added.
"Moreover, the Chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants' existence."
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan in May requested the court issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Netanyahu sacked Gallant as defence minister on November 5.
Khan initially also sought warrants against other top Hamas leaders on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He had already dropped the application for Ismail Haniyeh, the group's political leader, following his death in an explosion in Tehran.
Khan had also requested warrants against former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was also killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.
Despite the warrants, none of the suspects is likely to face judges in The Hague anytime soon. Member countries are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that.
For example, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted on an ICC warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, recently visited Mongolia, a member state in the court but also a Russian ally. He was not arrested.
Still, the threat of arrest now complicates any travel abroad by Netanyahu and Gallant — including to close allies of Israel. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the warrants are binding on all 27 members countries of the European Union.
France signaled it could arrest Netanyahu if he came to its territory. Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine called it a “complex legal issue” but said France supports the court’s actions.
“Combating impunity is our priority,” he said. “Our response will align with these principles.”
Israel's recent war on Gaza, dubbed by several rights organisations including UN agencies as "genocidal" has so far killed at least 43,985 people including more than 17,000 children and over 11,400 women. Israel has also killed over 184 journalists and at least 1000 healthcare workers.
Almost all of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been displaced by the war, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
The ICC panel pointed to Netanyahu and Gallant’s role “in impeding humanitarian aid … and their failure to facilitate relief by all means at their disposal,” noting that moves to let in more aid have been “conditional” and “insufficient.” The lack of food, water and medical supplies created conditions that lead to civilian deaths, the panel said.
Two days after Hamas, in a cross-border attack on southern Israel killed 1,206 Israelis and took 251 people as hostages, Gallant announced a total seal on Gaza, vowing not to let in food, fuel or other supplies. Under U.S. pressure, Israel began allowing a trickle of humanitarian aid to enter a few weeks later.
Israel now says it puts no limit on the amount of supplies into Gaza. Still, the flow of food and other goods is at nearly the lowest levels of the war, and the U.N. and other groups have said Israeli military restrictions are largely to blame, along with widespread lawlessness that has led to theft of aid shipments.
The case at the ICC is separate from another legal battle Israel is waging at the top U.N. court, the International Court of Justice, in which South Africa accuses Israel of genocide.
Lawyers for Israel argued in court that the war in Gaza was a legitimate defense of its people and that it was Hamas militants who were guilty of genocide.
(With inputs from AP)
