ICC issues arrest warrants for Binyamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The move comes after the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20th that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes connected to the October 7th, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the Israeli military response in Gaza.
The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.
Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of The Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza. Israel has said it killed Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in an air strike but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.
The warrants put Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant at risk of arrest if they travel abroad.
Mr Khan had requested the arrest warrants in May, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe Mr Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for causing mass starvation in Gaza that constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity.
On Thursday the court said it had found reasonable grounds to believe that Deif was responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, torture, rape and hostage taking.
The three-judge panel wrote in its unanimous decision to issue warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant: “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.”
Taoiseach Simon Harris described the issuing of warrants as an “extremely significant step”.
“The Government has long expressed its profound concern about the conduct of the war in Gaza and has stated clearly its belief that the rules of international law and international humanitarian law have not been upheld,” he said in a statement.
“We have insisted that international law must apply in all circumstances, at all times, and in all places, and that those responsible for breaches, those who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, must be held fully to account.
“Ireland respects the role of the International Criminal Court. Anyone in a position to assist it in carrying out its vital work must now do so with urgency.”
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 with the opportunity to investigate the allegations itself before requesting the warrants.
Some member states have ignored ICC warrants before, but Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant would nonetheless risk arrest if they travelled to any country that had signed the 1998 Rome statute.
Mr Khan had requested warrants for three Hamas leaders, two of whom have since been killed, for alleged war crimes relating to the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel in which fighters killed more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 250.
The arrest warrants could increase the external pressure on Mr Netanyahu’s government as the US seeks to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but could well strengthen the prime minister’s political position in Israel in the short term, as most Israelis reject the ICC’s jurisdiction as interference in their country’s internal affairs.
Israeli president Yitzhak Herzog described the ICC decision as “a dark day for humanity.” In a post to social media, Mr Herzog said: “This is a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity. Taken in bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughing stock.”
Israel’s recently appointed foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said the world should reject the ICC warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant with “disgust” as an “injustice”. Posting in Hebrew to social media, Mr Saar said: “These are orders that are not only directed against them personally. In fact, this is an attack on Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Israel’s opposition leaders also fiercely criticised the ICC’s move. Benny Gantz, a retired general and political rival to Mr Netanyahu, condemned the decision, saying it showed “moral blindness” and was a “shameful stain of historic proportion that will never be forgotten”. Yair Lapid, another opposition leader, called it a “prize for terror”.
US president Joe Biden has said he does not believe Mr Netanyahu is doing enough to secure a ceasefire, after the Israeli leader vowed not to compromise over Israeli control over strategic territory inside Gaza. Mr Netanyahu has accused Hamas of failing to negotiate in good faith.
The United States has previously welcomed ICC war crimes warrants against Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials for atrocities committed in Ukraine, while denouncing the court’s pursuit of Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant, a mixed stance which has exposed the Biden administration to accusations of double standards from many UN members, particularly from the global south.
The warrants have been issued at a sensitive moment for Mr Khan, who is facing an external investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. The inquiry will examine the allegations against the ICC prosecutor, which, the Guardian reported last month, include claims of unwanted sexual touching and “abuse” over an extended period, as well as coercive behaviour and abuse of authority.
Mr Khan (54) has denied the allegations and said he will co-operate with the investigation. The alleged victim, an ICC lawyer in her 30s, has previously declined to comment. – Agencies