The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza”.
The decision was met with outrage in ‘Israel’, which called it shameful and absurd. Hamas welcomed the warrants, and a senior official told Reuters it was a first step towards justice.
‘Israel’ has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denied war crimes in Gaza. The United States, Israel’s main supporter, is also not a member of the ICC.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan had announced on May 20 that he was seeking arrest warrants for crimes connected to the Israeli military response in Gaza. Israeli leaders have dismissed allegations that they committed war crimes.
The court does not have its own police force to carry out arrests and relies on its 124 member states for that. Whether they are arrested or not depends on the member states. They have an obligation to do so but the court has only limited diplomatic means to force them if they do not want to.
REACTIONS
Netanyahu’s office said the ICC decision was “anti-semitic” and he will “not yield to pressure, will not be deterred” until Israel’s war objectives are met.
The ICC has “lost all legitimacy” after issuing the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.
“A dark moment for the International Criminal Court,” Saar said on X, adding that it had issued “absurd orders without authority”.
There was no immediate comment from Gallant.
The White House said Washington “fundamentally rejects” the ICC decision, adding that they are “deeply concerned by the Prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision”.
“The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter,” a National Security Council spokesperson said.
In a statement, Hamas welcomed the warrants against Gallant and Netanyahu and urged the court to expand accountability to all Israeli leaders.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters the warrants against the Israelis were an important step towards bringing justice for the victims.
“But it remains a limited and spiritual step if it was not backed practically by all countries to get this decision implemented in compliance with law and justice,” he said.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the decision was not a political one but made by a court and thus should be respected and implemented.
“The tragedy in Gaza has to stop,” Borrell said.
Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi also said the ICC’s decision must be implemented, adding that the Palestinians deserved justice after what he termed Israel’s “war crimes” in Gaza.
The Netherlands’ foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said his country was prepared to act upon the warrants, Dutch news agency ANP reported.
In the United States, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, said: “The Court is a dangerous joke. It is now time for the U.S. Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible body.”
Israel’s 13-month campaign in Gaza has killed about 44,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly all the enclave’s population while creating a humanitarian crisis, Gaza officials say.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
