Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The move comes after the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20th that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes connected to the October 7th, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the Israeli military response in Gaza.
The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.
Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of The Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza. Israel has said it killed Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in an air strike, but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.
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The warrants put Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant at risk of arrest if they travel abroad.
Mr Khan had requested the arrest warrants in May, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for causing mass starvation in Gaza that constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity.
On Thursday the court said it had found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Deif was responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, torture, rape and hostage-taking.
The three-judge panel wrote in its unanimous decision to issue warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant: “The chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
Taoiseach Simon Harris described the issuing of warrants as an “extremely significant step”.
“The Government has long expressed its profound concern about the conduct of the war in Gaza and has stated clearly its belief that the rules of international law and international humanitarian law have not been upheld,” he said in a statement.
“We have insisted that international law must apply in all circumstances, at all times, and in all places, and that those responsible for breaches, those who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, must be held fully to account.
“Ireland respects the role of the International Criminal Court. Anyone in a position to assist it in carrying out its vital work must now do so with urgency.”
The Israeli foreign ministry said in September that it had submitted two legal briefs challenging the ICC’s jurisdiction and arguing that the court did not provide Israel with the opportunity to investigate the allegations itself before requesting the warrants.
Some member states have ignored ICC warrants before, but Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant would nonetheless risk arrest if they travelled to any country that had signed the 1998 Rome statute.
Mr Khan had requested warrants for three Hamas leaders, two of whom have since been killed, for alleged war crimes relating to the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel in which fighters killed more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 250.
The arrest warrants could increase the external pressure on Mr Netanyahu’s government as the US seeks to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but could well strengthen the prime minister’s political position in Israel in the short term, as most Israelis reject the ICC’s jurisdiction as interference in their country’s internal affairs.
[ Widespread condemnation of ICC arrest warrants cross Israeli political spectrumOpens in new window ]
Israeli president Yitzhak Herzog described the ICC decision as “a dark day for humanity”. In a post to social media, Mr Herzog said: “This is a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity. Taken in bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughing stock.”
Israel’s recently appointed foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said the world should reject the ICC warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant with “disgust” as an “injustice”. Posting in Hebrew to social media, Mr Saar said: “These are orders that are not only directed against them personally. In fact, this is an attack on Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Israel’s opposition leaders also fiercely criticised the ICC’s move. Benny Gantz, a retired general and political rival to Mr Netanyahu, condemned the decision, saying it showed “moral blindness” and was a “shameful stain of historic proportion that will never be forgotten”. Yair Lapid, another opposition leader, called it a “prize for terror”.
In the US, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council responded to the decision by saying: “The United States fundamentally rejects the court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials. We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision.”
Republican US senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of president-elect Trump, said: “The court is a dangerous joke. It is now time for the US Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible body.”
The US has previously welcomed ICC war crimes warrants against Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials for atrocities committed in Ukraine, while denouncing the court’s pursuit of Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant, a mixed stance which has exposed the Biden administration to accusations of double standards from many UN members, particularly from the global south.
In Canada, prime minister Justin Trudeau responded, “It’s really important that everyone abide by international law,” adding that his country would abide by rulings of international courts.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the ICC warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant are not political, and the court’s decision should be respected and implemented.
France’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said the French reaction to the warrants would be “in line with ICC statutes”, but declined to say whether France would arrest the leader if he came to the country. “It’s a point that is legally complex,” he said.
Britain respected the independence of the ICC, a spokesperson for prime minister Keir Starmer said, without confirming whether Britain would uphold the warrants.
Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said Rome would consider with allies how to interpret the decision and act together. “We support the ICC ... the court must play a legal role and not a political role,” he added.
Norway’s foreign minister Espen Barth Eide said, “It is important that the ICC carries out its mandate in a judicious manner. I have confidence that the court will proceed with the case based on the highest fair trial standards.”
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice said it is obliged to co-operate with the ICC under the Rome Statute, and would therefore have to arrest Mr Netanyahu, Mr Gallant or Mr Masri if they entered Switzerland, and initiate extradition to the court.
Austrian foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg called the warrant incomprehensible and ludicrous, but Mr Schallenberg’s office also said as a party to the Rome statutes, Austria was obliged to implement ICC arrest warrants.
Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi, meanwhile, said the ICC rulings should be respected and implemented, adding that “Palestinians deserve justice”.
The warrants have been issued at a sensitive moment for Mr Khan, who is facing an external investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. The inquiry will examine the allegations against the ICC prosecutor, which, the Guardian reported last month, include claims of unwanted sexual touching and “abuse” over an extended period, as well as coercive behaviour and abuse of authority.
Mr Khan (54) has denied the allegations and said he will co-operate with the investigation. The alleged victim, an ICC lawyer in her 30s, has previously declined to comment. – Agencies