The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants this Thursday against the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahuand his former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant as those most responsible for the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip since at least October 8 of last year.
The judges have also approved the arrest warrant requested in May by the prosecutor Karim Khan against Mohammed Deifa senior Hamas official considered head of its military wing, whose whereabouts are known. Israel considers him eliminated in an Israeli attack launched last June against the Strip, but the terrorist group has not confirmed his death.
The reasons accepted by the judges are suspicions that Netanyahu and Gallant are “criminally responsible as co-authors of the war crimes of using hunger as a method of war and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.” Furthermore, they are held responsible as “civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population.”
The Pre-Trial Chamber therefore unanimously rejected the challenges presented in September by Israel, which denied the ICC’s jurisdiction over the situation in the State of Palestine in general, and over Israeli citizens in particular. The Netanyahu government also called on the judges to stop “any proceedings related to the situation, including the consideration of requests for arrest warrants,” another request rejected by the magistrates.
As for Hamas, Khan called for the arrest of the then leader Yahya Sinwar; the military chief Mohammed Deif; and its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh. The indictment includes six war crimes, such as hostage-taking and acts of sexual violence, and five crimes against humanity, including extermination and murder.
The Netanyahu’s reaction has not been long in coming. Through a statement from his office, he has labeled “anti-Semitic” this order which had been expected for months, which he compared to a “modern Dreyfus trial”, in addition to underlining that the ICC ruling is full of “absurd lies and falsehoods.” In any case, he has reiterated that he “will not give in to pressure” in defense of his citizens nor will Israeli forces “withdraw” until “all objectives in Gaza are achieved.” “There is nothing more just than the war that Israel wages in Gaza”he stressed.
The prime minister Naftali Bennetthas defined the ICC order as “a mark of shame” for the court. The main opposition leader, Yair Lapidtalks about “a reward for terrorism.”
He has also reacted Hamas. “International justice is with us against the Zionist entity,” he said in a statement. Hamas political bureau member Izzat al Rishq, for his part, stressed that This ICC decision exposes “the true terrorist face” of Israel for the benefit of the Palestinians, as well as that their cause and goal of liberation “are inevitable.”
It is worth remembering that Israel is among the States that, like Russia, the United States or China, do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC. This means that, as in the case of Vladimir PutinNetanyahu can move freely within those countries, but those that did ratify the Treaty of Rome are obliged to be detained if he crosses their borders. This list includes all the countries of the European Union and almost all the American and African countries. However, Mongolia recently set an unfavorable precedent by receiving Putin with full honors instead of arresting him and handing him over for trial.
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