Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant. Pic: Reuters
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor on Monday will seek arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for Hamas leaders who live so that Israel cannot exist.
The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant will include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies and deliberately targeting civilians in conflict”.
In a statement published following the CNN interview, Khan’s office said he had “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed since Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the northwestern Negev.
The judges of the International Criminal Court are the sole arbiters as to whether the necessary standard for the issuance of warrants of arrest has been met. A panel of three justices from the ICC’s Pre-Trial Division will now consider Khan’s application for the arrest warrants.
If the court in The Hague greenlights the warrants, it would constitute an “unprecedented antisemitic hate crime,” Netanyahu warned last month after reports surfaced of Khan’s intentions.
“The possibility that they will issue arrest warrants for war crimes against IDF commanders and government leaders is a scandal of historical magnitude,” stated the premier.
“Eighty years after the Holocaust, the international bodies established with the goal of preventing another Holocaust are considering denying the Jewish state its right to defend itself,” he continued.
Jerusalem does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction over its military and political actions in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria.
Today Israeli Ambassador to Portugal Dor Shapira wrote that "The prosecutor is just looking for headlines. The ICC has no jurisdiction over the case" and issued an "absolutely scandalous decision". "Equating the heads of a terrorist organization with the leaders of a democratic state is ridiculous and poorly reflects the values of the prosecutor. Israel is at war against Hamas and not the Palestinian people. We conduct our operations in accordance with international laws.", he added.
