The International Criminal Court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Israeli-detained Hamas leader Mohammed Deif. said he was killed in the airstrike in July.
The judges found that there was no reasonable person to believe that both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant had “deliberately and knowingly deprived civilians in Gaza of essential items such as food, water, medicine, medical supplies, fuel and electricity.” There is good evidence.” from at least October 8, 2023 to May 20, 2024,” the ICC prosecutor said. applied for an arrest warrantthe ICC said in a statement on Thursday.
“This finding is based on Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant’s role in obstructing humanitarian assistance in violation of international humanitarian law and their failure to use all available means to facilitate relief efforts,” the ICC said.
The UN tribunal’s judges found that their actions “led to disrupting the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide food and other necessities to people in need in Gaza. Along with reductions in fuel supplies, this will have a significant impact on water availability and hospitals’ ability to provide medical care in Gaza.”
Israel and Hamas respond to ICC arrest warrant
Israeli officials condemned the ICC prosecutor’s decision to request arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Gallant in May, and quickly denounced the warrants on Thursday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a scathing statement dismissing the ICC as anti-Semitic and claiming that the lead prosecutor had only requested the warrant in the first place to distract from the case. Allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false acts and accusations by the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political organization,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “There is nothing more legitimate than the war that Israel is waging in Gaza… after the terrorist organization Hamas launched a brutal attack on Gaza, committing the largest massacre committed against Jews since the Holocaust. ”
“No anti-Israel decision will prevent the State of Israel from defending its people,” the statement said, adding that Prime Minister Netanyahu himself said, “We will not bow to pressure, we will not back down, and we will achieve all of Israel’s war goals. We will not withdraw until then,” he added. We have achieved the goal we set at the beginning of the campaign. ”
Gallant said in a statement that the court’s decision “equals Israel with the murderous leaders of Hamas, thus justifying the killing of infants, the rape of women, and the abduction of elderly people from their beds.” said. It sets a dangerous precedent for the right to self-defense and moral warfare, and encourages murderous terrorism. ”
Deif, the Hamas military commander whom Israel claims was killed over the summer, was found by an ICC judge to be “responsible for crimes against humanity: murder, extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence.” was accused of. Murder, brutal treatment, hostage war crimes, and rape and other forms of sexual violence. ” The ongoing war.
IDF via AP
The attack killed about 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages.
Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied that Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike in July.
Hamas said in a statement that the ICC decision was “an important step towards justice for the Palestinian cause.”
Hamas did not mention the warrant for Deif’s arrest, saying it “sends a message to all war criminals that no matter how long it takes, no matter how much you deceive people or pervert the legal system, you will not escape punishment.” There must be,” he said. The story, the truth, takes precedence. ”
What does an ICC arrest warrant mean in practice?
In theory, the arrest warrant could limit the actions of Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant, since any of the 124 member states over which the court has jurisdiction would be obliged to arrest them. If Deif were still alive, his movement within the Gaza Strip would already be restricted as Israel continues its military operations there.
The ICC does not have a police force, so arrests are left to the discretion of member states’ local law enforcement agencies. Israel and the United States are not signatories and therefore do not fall under the court’s jurisdiction.
The Dutch foreign minister said his country was preparing to act on the warrant, Reuters reported.
In the US, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, said: “The courts are a dangerous joke. It’s time for the US Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible institution.” .
Florida Congressman Mike Walz said in a social media post: Mr. Trump chose to take office. As the US National Security Adviser, he said, “The ICC has no credibility and these claims are refuted by the US government,” and that Israel “lawfully defends its people and borders from genocidal terrorists.” He defended Israel.
“We can expect a strong response from the ICC and the United Nations against anti-Semitic bias in January,” Walz said.
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