The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense chief Yoav Gallant, and top Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif rendering them wanted suspects globally.
The decision by a three-panel group of judges to issue the warrants requested by the Court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, in May was unanimous, said a Nov. 21 news release.
Initially, the prosecutor accused Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Gallant, and three leading Hamas figures—Yehya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mr. Deif—of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the deadly war raging since Oct. 7, 2023.
Both Mr. Sinwar and Mr. Haniyeh were killed and then removed from the applications in August and October respectively, said the ICC. Although never definitively confirmed, the Israeli occupier forces said, in August, that Mr. Deif was also killed in an air strike on southern Gaza.
The warrants deal a major blow to the Israeli leaders, widely criticized for commonly receiving political impunity and flouting international norms. However, some observers see the move as symbolic and major.
“It’s symbolic, but it’s an important symbol,” said Roger Wareham, an international lawyer with the December 12th Movement International Secretariat. “It’s an acknowledgment that they found that there’s enough evidence to hold Netanyahu and Gallant accountable for what they’ve been doing,” he told The Final Call.
The New York-based attorney explained that issuing the warrants was significant because seldom is the ICC invoked against Western countries or favorites of Western countries. “You know, its history has primarily been bringing up African leaders,” said Mr. Wareham. “It means that there’s so much evidence, that even they could not ignore [it],” he added.
Mr. Netanyahu’s office lambasted the decision and described the move as “anti-Semitic” in a statement. “Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions leveled against it by ICC,” his office said, adding Israel won’t “give in to pressure” in defense of its citizens, reported MSN.com.
Although not addressing the warrant on Mr. Dief, a statement from Hamas welcomed the announcement. “It’s an important step towards justice and can lead to redress for the victims in general, but it remains limited and symbolic if it is not supported by all means, by all countries around the world,” said Basem Naim, a Hamas a political bureau member in the statement.
Both foreign ministers of France and the Netherlands—where the ICC is located—said their countries would act on the warrant. France called the question of arresting Mr. Netanyahu “legally complex.”
The U.S., like Israel, is not a State party to the ICC with its own rocky relationship, condemned the decision. President Joe Biden called the move “outrageous” and said, “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence—none—between Israel and Hamas,” before reiterating his support for Israel.
With a history of the ICC’s credibility on the line and a lot of pushbacks around why the disproportionate prosecution of Africans, stepping to Israel with the issuance of the warrants may mark a different day. Where it goes remains to be seen.
“I don’t know practically, what effect it’s going to have, it’ll have some,” stated Mr. Wareham, adding, “some trickle down in terms of politically and also raise the possibility of blowback on the U.S. “The U.S. was the prime facilitator … providing them with the weapons and aid that they needed,” reasoned Mr. Wareham.
Israel, not being a signatory to the Rome Statute that governs the ICC, rejected the Court’s jurisdiction and authority to bring the measures. However, the Court said that the warrants were decided based on the State of Palestine being a party to the ICC.
In March 2021, the ICC prosecutor announced the opening of an investigation into the situation in Palestine. Before that, in February, the Court determined it had jurisdiction that extended to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The alleged crime is in plain sight, argue human rights advocates. They have argued that weaponized starvation, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza, are acute and visible. According to Palestinian health officials.
Fatalities have surpassed 44,700 people, including more than 17,400 children, thousands presumed dead in the mass of destroyed structures, and 80 percent of the Gaza Strip is under active evacuation orders from forced displacement.
“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 about Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant.
The violations created conditions of life calculated to bring about destruction among the civilian population in Gaza, resulting in death—including of children—due to malnutrition and dehydration.
The judges said, however, based on the material presented by the prosecutor, they could not determine that all elements of the crime against humanity of extermination were met. However, they found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of murder was committed.
Meanwhile, Israel’s theater of conflict continues into a multifront corridor of fighting in Lebanon and Syria. Israel has been bombarding neighboring Lebanon trading missile attacks with the resistance group, Hezbollah where more death and destruction is mounting.
Qusay Al-Dahhak, Syria’s United Nations Ambassador, said the Security Council’s failure to fulfill its responsibilities has encouraged Israel to continue its attacks on countries in the region, targeting border crossings, roads and bridges between Syria and Lebanon, reported Sana News.
“The Israeli aggression on Syrian territory coincide with the intensification of terrorist organizations’ attacks, which affirms the close coordination and organic connection with the entity in committing criminal acts and attacks on civilians in the surrounding areas,” said Mr. al-Dahhak in a Nov. 21 Security Council session on Syria.
Critics argue Israel has acted with impunity from prosecution for their atrocities as though they can do anything and not be held accountable, largely because of the might of the United States.
“It’s going to be the lead to their downfall because they’re creating greater resistance every day,” said Mr. Wareham. “With every child they kill, they’re creating people … when they grow up, are going to be fighting them tooth and nail,” he reasoned. “So, in that sense, the U.S. is going right down that path,” said Mr. Wareham.
