ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant for Gaza ‘war crimes’
The ICC warrants prevent Netanyahu and Gallant from traveling to 120 countries which are parties to the Rome Statute.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC), announced via X/Twitter, issued arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as former Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
The post stated that “ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejected the State of Israel’s challenge to jurisdiction and issued warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu” and Yoav Galant.
The Rome Statute states that neither Netanyahu or Gallant are allowed to travel to any of 120 countries which have signed the Statute.
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The ICC stated that there were reasonable grounds for believing that Netanyahu and Gallant had committed war crimes of starvation and crimes against humanity such as murder, persecution and other humane actions.
The court found that there were reasonable grounds for believing that Netanyahu and Gallant intentionally deprived Gaza’s civilian population from essential supplies such as food, fuel, water and medical aid in violation of humanitarian law.
The actions created conditions that were life-threatening, resulting in civilian deaths due to malnutrition and thirst. Medical supplies were also disrupted, resulting in severe suffering and surgeries without anesthesia.
The ICC said that it found that many decisions to allow limited aid were conditional, and that they were not made “to fulfill Israel’s obligation under international humanitarian law or ensure that civilians in Gaza would receive adequate supplies.” Instead, these decisions were a result of international pressures and requests from the US.
The ICC stated that “whether the decisions were made conditionally or not,” “increases to humanitarian assistance are not enough to improve access to essential items for the population.”
The court found that “reasonable grounds exist” for believing there is no international legal justification or clear military necessity to restrict humanitarian relief operations.
The court said that while the warrants had been classified as “secret”, they were released because “conduct similar in nature to the warrant of arrest” was still ongoing.
The court said that it was in the best interests of the victims’ families and the public to be informed of the existence of the warrant.
The court also issued an arrest warrant against Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (also known as Mohammed Deif).
The prosecution had originally filed warrants for arrest of two other senior Hamas leaders, Yahya sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh. The Chamber retracted the warrants of arrest on 9 August 2024 for Ismail Haniyeh and 25 October 2020 for Yahya Sinwar after confirmation of their death.
The Prosecution stated that it would continue gathering information about Deif’s reported death. The Prosecution informed the Chamber on 15 November 2024 that, after referring to both Israeli and Palestinian information, it was not able to determine if Deif had been killed or if he still remained alive. The Chamber therefore issues the current warrant of arrest.
Both Israel and Hamas confirmed Deif’s murder.
Israel’s objections
Israel filed a formal objection with the ICC in September regarding the legality and request of the prosecutor to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
Israel claimed that it had no authority to talk about the Palestinian complaint, which led to the prosecution’s recent request for arrest warrants to be issued against the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister.
The pre-trial chamber rejected these claims, noting that Israel’s acceptance of the Court’s jurisdiction was not necessary, since the Court could exercise its jurisdiction based on Palestine’s territorial jurisdiction, as determined in Pre-Trial Chamber I by a previous composition.
The court said, “The Prosecution informed Israel of the commencement of an investigation in 2020.” Israel chose not to pursue a request for deferment of the investigation at that time despite the Prosecution’s clarification request.
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