The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister, and Hamas officials, alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to the war in Gaza and the October 2023 incursion that spurred Israel’s genocidal offensive.
In their decision to grant the warrants, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for starvation in Gaza and the persecution of Palestinians.
The warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masr lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, incursion on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, including rape and the taking of hostages.
The prosecution indicated it would continue to gather information with respect to his reported assassination.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20 that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes connected to the Hamas incursion of Israel and the Israeli military response in Gaza.
Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza.
In the first Israeli reaction, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that ICC has “lost all legitimacy” after issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett labeled the ICC decision as a “mark of shame” for the court. Israel’s main opposition leader Yair Lapid also denounced the court’s move, calling it “a reward for terrorism.”
The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to isolate them further.
The court does not have its own police force to carry out arrests and relies on its member states for that. ICC members include all European Union countries, Britain, Japan, Brazil, Australia and Canada, and in the Middle East region the Palestinian territories and Jordan.
The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.
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