The Office of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has asked the Pre-Trial Chamber of the world court to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s military and political leaders for the crimes of the Gaza war, The Guardian reports.
The chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, Karim Khan, said he was seeking arrest warrants for senior Hamas and Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
The court charges Netanyahu and Gallant of exterminating civilians in Gaza, using starvation as a method of warfare, denying humanitarian aid and deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians. Khan’s office said in a statement:
These acts demand accountability.
The ICC has previously issued arrest warrants to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Libyan Muammar Gaddafi and Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, but no “Western-style” democratic leader has yet been issued a warrant.
Israeli war crimes investigations
The ICC decided in 2021 that it had a mandate to investigate violence and war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian groups in events dating back to 2014, although Israel is not a member of the court and does not recognise its authority.
Khan visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing in Gaza in late October, and Israel and the West Bank in December, and signalled that his investigation would include the 7 October and its aftermath.
Earlier this month, Netanyahu appeared to publicly panic over the prospect of ICC prosecution and reportedly asked his ally Joe Biden, the US president, to intervene in any potential legal action against Israel.
Any ICC warrants could put Israeli officials at risk of arrest in other countries, further exacerbating the country’s growing international isolation because of its behaviour in the Gaza war. Hamas killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on 7 October, and in total about 35,000 people have died in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Israel also faces a South African case in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide. Israel denies the allegations.
The prosecutor must seek an order from a pre-trial panel of three judges, who take an average of two months to review the evidence and determine whether the trial can proceed.
