The International Criminal Court prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders

International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim AA Khan said on Monday that he was submitting applications to the International Criminal Court for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three senior Hamas leaders. Hamas leaders listed by Khan include Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s top political commander, Yahya Sinwar, its military commander in the Gaza Strip, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, the top commander of the group’s military wing.

The applications will be reviewed by ICC judges who will determine whether the standards for issuing arrest warrants are met Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.

“Today we reiterate that international law and the laws of armed conflict apply to all,” Khan said in a statement. “No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader – no one – can act with impunity. Nothing can justify deliberately depriving people, including so many women and children, of the basic needs of life. Nothing can justify taking hostages and targeting civilians.”

The arrest warrants come after a months-long investigation into both the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and the Israeli terrorist attack military reaction in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, long classified as a terrorist group by the United States and Israel, had ruled Gaza for nearly two decades at the start of the current war.

In a statement on Monday, President Biden called the ICC’s move “outrageous.”

“Let me be clear: Whatever this prosecutor may suggest, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas,” Mr. Biden said. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

Israel and Hamas respond to ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants

Both Israeli officials and Hamas also criticized the ICC chief prosecutor’s move.

In a video statement on social media, Netanyahu said the ICC’s actions were “a moral outrage of historic proportions.”

“Mr Khan creates a twisted and false moral equation between the leaders of Israel and the henchmen of Hamas. This is like establishing a moral equivalence between President Bush and Osama bin Laden after 9/11,” Netanyahu said.

The Israeli prime minister said Khan was “callously pouring gasoline on the fire of anti-Semitism that rages around the world. By this seditious decision, Mr. Khan takes his place among the great anti-Semites of modern times.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the announcement was “beyond outrageous and shows how much the international justice system is at risk of collapse.”

Herzog said the move “emboldens terrorists around the world and violates all fundamental rules of the court… Any attempt to draw parallels between these cruel terrorists and the democratically elected government of Israel – which is working to fulfill its duty to defend its homeland and “The complete compliance of citizens with the principles of international law is outrageous and cannot be accepted by anyone.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, welcomed the ICC’s move against Hamas but said it was “not satisfied with the equation between the Israeli leadership and the Hamas terrorists.” We believe the way to prove this difference to the world is to immediately begin negotiations that will allow the release of the hostages – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for burial.”

Hamas also rejected the ICC prosecutor’s move, saying in a statement that it “establishes equality between the victims and the executioner” and called on the court to reverse its decision, according to Reuters news agency.

What crimes are Netanyahu and Gallant accused of?

Khan said his team is convinced that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including starving civilians, intentionally causing great suffering, intentional killing, intentionally targeting civilians, extermination and/or murder , persecution and other inhumane acts committed during the war against Hamas.

“We believe that the accused crimes against humanity were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack on the Palestinian civilian population in accordance with state policy. These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day,” Khan said.

He said his office had collected evidence, including statements from survivors and witnesses as well as authenticated videos, that “show that Israel has intentionally and systematically deprived civilians in all parts of the Gaza Strip of items essential to human survival.”

“Israel, like all states, has the right to take measures to protect its people,” Khan said. “However, this right does not relieve Israel or any State of its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law. Regardless of any military objectives, the means that Israel chose to achieve them in Gaza – namely the deliberate infliction of death and starvation – are great. “Suffering and serious injury to the body or health of the civilian population are punishable.”

Health officials in Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory say Israel’s air and ground operations in Gaza have killed more than 35,000 people, most of them women and children, since October 7.

Netanyahu has acknowledged a death toll of 30,000 in Gaza, but says about half of those killed were militants.

What crimes are Sinwar, Hineyah and Al-Masri accused of?

Khan said his team believes Sinwar, Haniyeh and Al-Masri bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extermination, murder, hostage-taking, Rape and other sexual violenceTorture, other inhumane acts, cruel treatment and violations of personal dignity.

“We believe that the accused crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and systematic attack by Hamas and other armed groups on the civilian population of Israel, in accordance with the organization’s guidelines. Some of these crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day,” Khan said.

He said his office interviewed victims and survivors and collected evidence including videos and determined that “these individuals planned and instigated the commission of crimes on October 7, 2023 and through their own actions, including personal visits to hostages shortly after their abduction.” , have acknowledged their responsibility for these crimes,” Khan said.

Khan said that, given the medical records, video evidence and interviews with victims and survivors, his office believes that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that hostages abducted from Israel were held in inhumane conditions and that some were victims of sexual violence, including sexual violence.” Rape while in custody,” Khan said, noting that his office was still investigating “reports of sexual violence on October 7.”

Hamas killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 240 others in its unprecedented attack, about 100 of whom are believed to still be alive and held hostage in the Gaza Strip.

What is the ICC?

There are a number of international treaties – the Geneva Convention and the Geneva Protocol being two of the most important – that establish international legal standards for the conduct of war. Any violation of these standards constitutes a war crime, which can be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and could result in prison sentences for the perpetrators.

The International Criminal Court was established by the international treaty commonly known as the Rome Statute. It was created in 2002 and tries individuals for serious crimes in four broad categories: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.

Which nations are signatories to the ICC and where does it have jurisdiction?

The ICC has jurisdiction only over the 124 countries that are parties to the Rome Statute and their citizens, and neither the United States nor Israel are signatories.

However, Khan has noted that since the United Nations recognizes the State of Palestine as a signatory to the Rome Statute, the court has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for acts committed in the Palestinian territories and Palestinians in Israel.

“The territorial scope of this jurisdiction extends to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” Khan said, adding that his office assesses the ICC’s jurisdiction over Palestinians in Israel and Israelis acting in Palestinian territories.