The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor has requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defense chief Yoav Gallant, a move supported by three European countries.
France, Belgium, and Slovenia all said on Monday that they supported the ruling of International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, who charged three Hamas leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defense minister with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
The five individuals “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who made this claim in a statement following over seven months of fighting in Gaza.
What does the ICC arrest warrants mean for Israel?
Prominent Israeli human rights group B’Tselem declared that the warrants demonstrated “Israel’s rapid decline into a moral abyss”.
“The international community is signaling to Israel that it can no longer maintain its policy of violence, killing and destruction without accountability,” it stated.
Human rights advocates have long lamented the fact that strong Western nations, especially the US, ignore Israeli breaches of international law while denouncing and punishing those states that do not share their views.
What happens next?
A pre-trial chamber will now receive the prosecutor’s application and determine whether to uphold the charges. If the charges are confirmed and the accused is brought before the Court, the case will proceed to trial.
The ICC’s 124 member states are obligated to arrest the wanted person immediately if they are on a member state’s territory. Israel, along with its main ally the United States, as well as China and Russia, are not members of the ICC. However, the ICC has determined it has legal authority to prosecute crimes in the war because the Palestinians are signatories.
In the past, member states have failed to hand over suspects who entered their territory, including Sudanese former President Omar Bashir, who has been wanted since 2005 for war crimes and genocide.
If arrest warrants are issued, Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu, would risk arrest if he visits close Western allies.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that the ICC’s actions were “not helpful to reaching a pause in the fighting, getting hostages out, or humanitarian aid in.” Nonetheless, if warrants are issued, Britain would be required to make the arrests unless it could successfully argue that Mr. Netanyahu has diplomatic immunity.
