THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
It has also wrongfully charged Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, with war crimes, equating the struggles of the oppressed with the oppressors.
The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant involve accusations of mass starvation in Gaza, which the court has identified as constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The warrants pose significant risks for Netanyahu and Gallant, making them liable for arrest if they travel to countries that are signatories to the 1998 Rome Statute.
Although Israel has dismissed the ICC’s jurisdiction, the court affirmed on Thursday that such acceptance is not required for its proceedings.
The ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, first requested the warrants in May, arguing that there were ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for depriving Gaza’s civilian population of essential resources, such as food, water, medical supplies, and electricity.
The three-judge panel unanimously stated: ‘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 situation is further complicated by claims that Hamas’ Deif may have been killed in an Israeli airstrike. While Israel has asserted this as fact, Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death.
The ICC has also noted that two other Hamas leaders, for whom warrants were sought, have reportedly been killed.
The US has faced accusations of hypocrisy for supporting ICC warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, while condemning the court’s pursuit of Netanyahu and Gallant.
This stance has drawn fierce criticism from numerous United Nations member states, particularly from the Global South.
Israel’s foreign ministry previously challenged the ICC’s jurisdiction in September, submitting two legal briefs that argued the court had bypassed Israel’s right to investigate the allegations internally.
Despite this, the warrants remain active, potentially increasing international pressure on Netanyahu’s government.
