Israel says it rejects International Criminal Court accusations with disgust

The Israeli government immediately responded to the ICC's decision to issue arrest warrants against Mr. Netanyahu and Galant

The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it had rejected appeals filed by Israel and issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sacked former Defense Minister Yoav Galant. In addition, the Court also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, although he has already been eliminated, as Hamas has not confirmed his death. The first country to declare that it would act in accordance with this mandate was the Netherlands, home to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

According to the statement, it says that Netanyahu and Galant “each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes, as co-perpetrators who committed the acts jointly with others: the war crime of using starvation as a method of war, as well as crimes against humanity such as murder, persecution and other inhumane acts. »

It also states that “Netanyahu and Galant each bear criminal responsibility as civilian officials for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.” » Appeals filed by the State of Israel were rejected, and the ICC pre-trial chamber unanimously issued decisions against Netanyahu and Galant.

Reasonable grounds

The Court found that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Galant are each criminally responsible as co-perpetrators of acts committed jointly with others: the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare, as well as crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution and other inhumane acts. It was also stated that “we found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Galant each bear criminal responsibility, as civilian commanders, for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.” »

The prime minister's office responded to the arrest warrants about an hour after they were issued, calling the official decision “an anti-Semitic decision by the International Criminal Court, equivalent to a modern version of the Dreyfus affair – and one that will end the same way.” manner. » It was also stated: “Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and accusations brought against it by the ICC, a biased and discriminatory political body. There is nothing more just than the war waged by Israel in Gaza since October 7, 2023, after the terrorist organization Hamas launched a deadly attack against Israel, carrying out the largest massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust . »

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Mr. Netanyahu's office also personally attacked prosecutor Karim Khan, citing the cases in which he himself is suspected: “The decision was made by a corrupt attorney general, seeking to protect himself from serious accusations against him for sexual harassment, and by biased judges, driven by anti-Semitic hatred of Israel. This is why the prosecutor lied when he told US senators that he would not take action against Israel before going there and hearing their side. This is also why he suddenly canceled his visit to Israel last May, a few days after suspicions of sexual harassment were raised against him, and why he announced his intention to issue arrest warrants against the Prime Minister and the former Minister of Defense. No anti-Israel decision will prevent the State of Israel from protecting its citizens. »

The statement concluded: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not bow to pressure, back down or give up until all of the war goals set by Israel at the start of the campaign are achieved. »

Mr Netanyahu will no longer be able to travel as easily

Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court. However, according to this statute, if an individual commits a war crime in the territory of a State party to the treaty, even if he is a foreigner, the Court can exercise jurisdiction against him. The Palestinians joined the Rome Statute in 2014 as a member state, and this is how they seek to apply these rules to Israelis. In February 2021, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber ruled, by majority, that the Court's Prosecutor had jurisdiction to investigate suspected war crimes committed in territories beyond the Green Line.

The International Criminal Court has no enforcement powers or police force to make arrests. After the issuance of an arrest warrant, all States parties to the Rome Statute are required to cooperate in executing the warrant and delivering the suspect to the Court. To date, 123 countries are members of the Rome Statute, including all countries in South America, almost all countries in Europe, Australia, Canada and about half of African countries. On the other hand, countries like the United States, India and China are not parties to the treaty.

Thus, any visit by Netanyahu or Galant to a Rome Statute member country could put them at risk of arrest and extradition to the International Criminal Court.

However, it should be noted that Member States do not always collaborate with the Court. For example, in 2015, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir attended an African Union summit in South Africa and was allowed to leave the country to return home, despite the arrest warrant being issued against him. More recently, Vladimir Putin visited Mongolia, a signatory country, without being worried.

The issuance of arrest warrants as part of an investigation represents a preliminary step in the legal process before the International Court. The road to filing indictments against senior Israeli officials is still very long. Furthermore, according to international law, national justice systems have priority in judging international crimes, under the principle of “complementarity”. On this point, Israel has solid legal arguments, affirming that its internal control and justice mechanisms are independent and functional, making any external intervention unnecessary.

In their decision, the judges clarified that they were not ruling at this stage on Israel's defense arguments, such as the principle of complementarity. They indicated that these issues would be considered later and not at the preliminary stage of issuing arrest warrants. Therefore, Israel must continue to strengthen its “legal barrier” by conducting independent internal investigations, in preparation for further stages of the judicial process.