The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, dismissed in early November, and the head of Hamas's armed wing Mohammed Deif for crimes of war and crimes against humanity.
“The Chamber issued arrest warrants against two individuals, Mr. Benyamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed at least from October 8, 2023 until May 20, 2024. less, the day the prosecution filed the requests for arrest warrants,” the ICC wrote in a first press release.
She added in a second statement that a warrant was also issued “unanimously” against Mohammed Deif “for crimes against humanity and alleged war crimes committed in the territory of the State of Israel and the 'State of Palestine since at least October 7, 2023'. The person concerned, one of the alleged masterminds of the October 7 attacks, was nevertheless declared dead by Israel. The IDF claimed to have killed him in a strike on July 13 in Khan Younes (southern Gaza), Hamas never confirmed his death.
The arrest warrants were classified “secret” in order to protect witnesses and ensure the conduct of investigations, the court said. But “the chamber considers that it is in the interest of the victims and their families that they are informed of the existence of the warrants,” she explained.
“Absurd” mandates
The ICC's decision theoretically limits Benjamin Netanyahu's travel, since any of the court's 124 member states would be obliged to arrest him on its territory. The European Union (EU) also considered that these arrest warrants must be respected and applied. “This is not a political decision. It is a decision of a court, of a court of justice, of an international court of justice. And the court’s decision must be respected and applied,” declared the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
The United States, for its part, “categorically” rejects the warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. The Israeli Prime Minister described the ICC decision as “anti-Semitic” and compared it to a “Dreyfus trial of today which will end the same way”, according to a press release from his office. Convicted of espionage, degraded and sent to the penal colony at the end of the 19th century in France, the Jewish captain Alfred Dreyfus was exonerated and rehabilitated a few years later.
“It’s a dark day for [la CPI]which has lost all legitimacy to exist and to act”, added the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Saar, on his account extremes working to undermine security and stability in the Middle East,” he adds, calling the orders “absurd.”
Hamas, for its part, welcomed “an important step towards justice, which can allow victims to obtain reparation”. However, “it remains modest and symbolic if it is not fully supported by all the countries of the world,” said Bassem Naïm, member of the Hamas political bureau, in a statement, without making any mention of the arrest warrant against Mohammed Deif.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan asked the court in May to issue international arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. He also requested arrest warrants for senior Hamas leaders, including Mohammed Deif, on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The prosecutor has since dropped the request for arrest warrants against Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinouar, whose deaths have been confirmed.
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