JERUSALEM (AP) — The chief prosecutor at the world's top war crimes tribunal on Monday sought arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over actions taken during the seven-month war.
Although Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant face no imminent arrest, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor's announcement was a symbolic blow that deepens Israel's isolation over the Gaza war.
The court's prosecutor, Karim Khan, indicted Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mr. Gallant, and three Hamas leaders: Yehya Sinwar, Mohamed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. War crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders condemned the move as disgraceful and anti-Semitic. US President Joe Biden also condemned the prosecutors and supported Israel's right to protect it from Hamas.
a Panel of 3 judges Decide whether to proceed with the case by issuing an arrest warrant. It typically takes a judge two months to make such a decision.
Israel is not a member of the court, so even if an arrest warrant is issued, Netanyahu and Gallant will not be at immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for Israeli leaders to travel abroad.
Netanyahu called the prosecutor's charges against him a “disgrace” and an attack on the Israeli army and all of Israel. He vowed to press ahead with Israel's war against Hamas.
Biden called efforts to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gallant over the Gaza war “outrageous,” adding: “No matter what prosecutors say, there is no equivalent relationship between Israel and Hamas. , not at all,” he added.
Hamas also condemned the actions of the ICC prosecutor, saying the call to arrest its leader “equates the victim with the executioner.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu is under intense pressure at home to end the war. Thousands of Israelis, fearing time is running out, have taken part in weekly demonstrations calling on the government to reach a deal to bring home Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
More recently, two other members of his war cabinet, Mr. Gallant and Benny Gantz, have threatened to resign if Netanyahu does not lay out a clear post-war vision for Gaza.
But on Monday, Netanyahu received wall-to-wall support as politicians from all walks of life condemned the ICC prosecutor's move. Among them were Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his two main political opponents, Gantz and opposition leader Yair Lapid.
It is unclear how Mr. Khan's actions will affect Mr. Netanyahu's social standing. The possibility of an arrest warrant for Mr. Netanyahu could give him a boost as Israelis rally behind the country's flag. But opponents could also accuse him of wreaking havoc on the country's diplomatic catastrophe.
Yuval Shani, an international law expert at Hebrew University and the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, said it was far more likely that Netanyahu's already troubled international standing would be further weakened.
“This will oust Prime Minister Netanyahu and severely impair his ability to move around the world,” Shani said. Even if the ICC does not issue an arrest warrant, other countries may now be reluctant to provide aid or assistance, he said.
Hamas is already considered an international terrorist organization by Western countries. Both Shinwar and Deif are believed to be hiding in Gaza. However, the Islamic extremist group's top leader, Haniyeh, is based in Qatar and frequently travels to the region. Qatar, like Israel, is not a member of the ICC.
The latest war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, when Gazan militants invaded Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 others hostage.
Since then, Israel has waged a brutal campaign to dismantle Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with the latest estimate from Gaza health officials saying more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, at least half of them women and children.
The war has created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with about 80% of the population displaced and hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation, according to U.N. officials.
“The impact of the use of starvation as a weapon of warfare, together with other attacks against Gaza's civilian population and collective punishment, is severe, visible and widely known,” Khan said of Israel's actions.
The United Nations and other aid agencies have repeatedly accused Israel of obstructing aid deliveries throughout the war. Israel denies this, insisting there are no restrictions on the flow of aid into Gaza and accusing the United Nations of failing to distribute aid.
Commenting on Hamas' actions on October 7, Khan, who visited the region in December, said he saw with his own eyes “the horrific scenes of these attacks and the serious impact of these unconscionable crimes.” .
Hamas militants went on a rampage, shooting dozens of revelers at a dance party and killing entire families huddled in a house. “These actions demand accountability,” Khan said.
International human rights lawyer amal clooney She served on the five-member expert committee advising Khan, and in a statement she said the panel unanimously agreed there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that both Hamas and Israeli leaders committed war crimes.
South Africa, which has been leading the genocide case against Israel at the United Nations World Court, welcomed Khan's announcement calling for the arrest of Israeli and Hamas leaders. President Cyril Ramaphosa's office said: “To uphold the international rule of law, the law must apply equally to all.”
The ICC was established in 2002 as the last permanent court to prosecute those responsible for the world's most heinous atrocities, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes of aggression.
Although the United Nations General Assembly supported the ICC, the court is independent.
Dozens of countries do not accept the court's jurisdiction over war crimes, genocide, and other crimes. These include Israel, the United States, Russia, and China.
The ICC accepted the “State of Palestine” as a member state in 2015, a year after the Palestinians accepted the court's jurisdiction.
2020, then-President of the United States President Donald Trump approves economic and travel sanctions Regarding the ICC prosecutor and another senior prosecutor. ICC staff was investigating U.S. and allied forces. Possible war crime In Afghanistan. Biden lifted sanctions in 2021.
Last year, a court issued a warrant to the Russian president Vladimir Putin Hold accountable for kidnapping children from Ukraine. Russia responded by issuing its own arrest warrants for Khan and the ICC judges.
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Molly Quell in Delft, Netherlands, and Mike Corder in Ede, Netherlands, contributed to this report.
