In a dramatic announcement, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, declared today that he has applied for arrest warrants to be issued for Israeli prime minster Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant. He has applied for three more for the Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniya.
On Hamas, Khan emphasized crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, taking hostages, rape and other sexual violence committed as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Israel by Hamas and other armed groups” as reasons for issuing the warrants. The chief prosecutor didn’t include alleged crimes perpetrated by Hamas again Palestinian civilians, including allegation that the terror organization has been using civilians as human shields, that it has allegedly confiscated food and other humanitarian supplies meant for civilians in Gaza, or their well documented use of civilian buildings such as hospitals and schools, for warfare.
Such warrants will harm Israel’s international legitimacy to continue fighting the war
With regard to Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC’s allegations include using starvation as a weapon of war, willfully causing great suffering, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population and “other inhumane acts” on Palestinian territory.
The announcement has been met with furious backlash in Israel. Israeli politicians across the political spectrum have criticized Khan for lumping together Islamist terrorists with a long record of alleged crimes against humanity alongside elected representatives of the region’s only liberal democracy who are fighting in self-defense. The prosecutor has been accused of hypocrisy and antisemitism. Israel’s president accused Khan of supporting terrorists, while Netanyahu called the move “outrageous.”
The announcement has also been met with fierce criticism from Israel’s closest allies. The UK government stated that it doesn’t support Khan’s decision and that they do not believe it would be conducive to reaching a ceasefire or for the release of hostages. It added that the ICC has no jurisdiction in this case, seeing as Israel is not a state party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that recognizes the court’s jurisdiction. The UK also pointed out, correctly, that Palestine is not recognized as a state (Khan has referred to it in his statement as the “state of Palestine”). The Czech prime minster Petr Fiala called the move against Netanyahu and Gallant “completely unacceptable.”
The threat of arrest warrants has been present for some time, prompting several Republican senators to issue a warning to the ICC earlier this month that there would be “repercussions” if the court issues arrest warrants against Israeli officials. The senators warned that acting against Israel would undermine the nation’s ability to act in self-defense against an organization that seeks to destroy it by violent means and whose actions started this war.
Khan’s application for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant may not succeed. This will depend on the strength of the evidence submitted by Khan and whether the three-judge panel assessing it will determine that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the crimes have been committed. Accused parties do not get to defend themselves at this stage.
Even if arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant won’t be arrested so long as they visit countries that are not parties to the Rome Statute, such as the US. However, such warrants will harm Israel’s international legitimacy to continue fighting the war, increase criticism against it and may even lead to embargoes. It could also strengthen Hamas’s position and encourage other terror organizations to attack Israel. The ICC’s position on this may even have more far reaching and dangerous consequences, potentially limiting other nations’ ability to fight wars against terror organizations in the future.
The ICC was established to allow the international community to take action against those committing the most heinous crimes against humanity. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, for example, has earned him an arrest warrant. However, plenty of other murderous tyrants have not been issued with warrants. Syrian president Bashar Assad, whose struggle to remain in power resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians, including through use of chemical weapons, has not been issued one. Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei, whose country has been violently targeting women and dissidents, violating human rights and sponsoring international terrorism, has also not been issued with one. It is also curious that it has taken the ICC seven months after Hamas’s hideous attack to threaten its leaders with arrest warrants. The court’s selective approach raises concerns that it may not be as fair and impartial as it should be, and therefore, not fit for purpose.
This article was originally published on The Spectator’s UK website.
