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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyhu, accusing him of crimes against humanity war crimes over the war in Gaza
The court has also issued arrest warrants for Israelâs former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif. Israel said in August it had killed Deif in an air strike in Gaza earlier this year.
The conflict in Gaza was trigged by a terrort attack by Hamas on 7 October 2013, during which around 1,200 Israelis were killed, while another 251 people were taken hostage. Israelâs retaliatory war from land and air, alongside a blockade, has killed 44,000 Palestinians, the majority women and childen, according to health authorities inside the besieged territory. Around 90 per cent of Gazaâs 2.3 million residents have been forced from their homes.
The move is a dramatic escalation of legal proceedings over the war in Gaza as it turns Mr Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a ceasefire to end the 13-month conflict. It means that ICCâs 124 member states would be obliged to arrest Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant if they were to enter their territory.
However, the court itself has no police to enforce warrants â of which Israel and its major ally, the US, are not members â which means neither Mr Netanyahu or Mr Gallant are likely to face judges in the Hague.
The ICC said there were âreasonable groundsâ to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant âbear criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfareâ and that they had âintentionally and knowingly deprivedâ Gazaâs civilians of food, water, medicine, medical supplies and fuel and electricity.
“The Chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity,” the three-judge panel wrote in its unanimous decision.
Mr Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have condemned ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khanâs request for warrants as disgraceful and antisemitic. US President Joe Biden also blasted the prosecutor and expressed support for Israelâs right to defend itself against Hamas.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in September that it had submitted two legal briefs challenging the ICC’s jurisdiction and arguing that the court did not provide Israel the opportunity to investigate the allegations itself before requesting the warrants. The ICC said Israelâs acceptance of the courtâs jurisdiction was not required.
“No other democracy with an independent and respected legal system like that which exists in Israel has been treated in this prejudicial manner by the Prosecutor,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X. He said Israel remained “steadfast in its commitment to the rule of law and justice” and would continue to protect its citizens against militancy.
