ICC: Prosecutor Requests Arrest Warrants for Israeli and Hamas Leaders for War Crimes
Chief prosecutorKarim Khan, doInternational Criminal Court, requested judicial warrants related to the alleged crimes that occurred during the October 7 attack and subsequent war events in Gaza.
On the right, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar - Photo Reproduction/Getty Images
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is in the spotlight once again as the international body's Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, seeks arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. This unprecedented action reflects the intensification of investigations into the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which occurred in previous periods.
The measure was based on rules established after the Second World War. However, the accountability process at the ICC faces several political and legal obstacles. Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which establishes the ICC, and has resisted any attempt at court jurisdiction over its actions. On the other hand, although Hamas is not a state, the ICC has previously asserted its jurisdiction to prosecute crimes occurring in occupied Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip.
Accusations
This Monday (19), Karim Khan announced that his office requested the pre-trial chamber of the international court to issue arrest warrants for military and political leaders on both sides, in response to crimes committed during the October 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent war in Gaza.
He mentioned Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and Mohammed Deif, commander of the group's military wing, considered the masterminds of the October 7 attack. He also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Hamas political office, who is based in Qatar and is wanted for crimes such as extermination, murder, hostage taking, rape, sexual assault and torture.
Netanyahu and Gallant are accused of extermination, using starvation as a method of warfare, denying humanitarian aid supplies and deliberately attacking civilians. Monday's statement, in particular, does not include any Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials, such as Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, focusing instead on policy decisions.
Mandates
The International Criminal Court has already issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin of Russia, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and Omar al-Bashir, former president of Sudan. However,no leader of a “Western-style” democracy has ever been the target of a warrant. The court acted remarkably quickly, given its usual standards, by issuing warrants within eight months. The case against Putin, due to the invasion of Ukraine, took a year to build.
“The world was shocked on October 7th when people were uprooted from their homes, from their rooms in different kibbutzim… people suffered enormously,” Khan told CNN on Monday. “We have a variety of evidence to support the requests we make to the judges. These acts demand accountability,” Khan’s office said in a statement.
The events that triggered this action date back to the violent clashes between Israel and Hamas, which have been a recurring feature in the region for decades. The recent conflict in the Gaza Strip has resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries, as well as leaving a trail of destruction and displacement. The actions that occurred in both countries shocked the world and drew the attention of the international community to the urgent need for accountability for the crimes committed.
Investigations
In 2021, the world's highest court ruled that it had the mandate to investigate violence and war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian factions in events dating back to 2014, despite Israel not being a member of the court and not recognizing its authority. The Israeli establishment, like much of the public, has long maintained that the UN and its associated bodies are biased against the Jewish state.
Khan visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza in late October, and Israel and the West Bank in December, making clear that the scope of his office's investigation would be expanded to include October 7 and its aftermath. The chief prosecutor said late last year that the case was "moving forward at a rapid pace and with rigor."
Last month, Netanyahu publicly expressed concern about the possibility of an International Criminal Court case and reportedly called on his ally, US President Joe Biden, to intervene in any potential international legal action against Israel. The ICC investigation into Palestine, opened in 2021, was opposed by the US and the UK, both of which support Israel's right to self-defense, even in the face of the scale of death and destruction in Gaza, which has generated protests and domestic political repercussions.
Repercussions
A UK government spokesman said on Monday that London "does not believe issuing warrants will help release hostages, obtain humanitarian aid, or implement a lasting ceasefire". Khan, the British ICC prosecutor, must apply for the warrants for the Hamas and Israeli suspects to a pre-trial panel of three judges, who usually take about two months to evaluate the evidence and decide whether to prosecute. can move forward.
Daniel Machover, one of the founders of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, expressed that this is news of enormous magnitude, although the wait to reach this point has been excessively long. He emphasized the need to uphold the rule of law. Furthermore, Machover expressed concern about the insufficiency of the list of potential Israeli defendants and the notable absence of international crimes related to the West Bank settlements. However, he expressed hope that the ICC Chamber will approve the request as soon as possible and that more charges and defendants will be added.
Khan's decision was quickly condemned across the Israeli political spectrum. Benny Gantz, former military chief and member of Israel's war cabinet alongside Netanyahu and Gallant, criticized the ICC's announcement, stating that Israel follows one of the strictest moral codes and has a robust judiciary capable of investigating itself . Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called the ICC's actions a disaster. Hamas was also critical, with senior official Sami Abu Zuhri telling Reuters that the ICC prosecutor's decision casts the victim as the executioner.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz expressed that the chief prosecutor's decision was considered "a sad page in history that will be remembered in perpetuity." Furthermore, he announced the formation of a special committee to "respond" and collaborate with global leaders, ensuring that such warrants do not interfere with Israel's sovereignty.
Implications
Although there is no imminent threat of prosecution, the International Criminal Court warrants could expose Israeli officials to the risk of detention in other countries, further deepening the growing international isolation over their conduct in the war in Gaza. On October 7, around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed, adding to approximately 35,000 casualties in the conflict in Gaza, as reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Khan highlighted his full awareness of the historical weight and possible implications of his unprecedented decision in a lengthy statement made in The Hague on Monday.
