International Criminal Court, arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant –

“Crimes against humanity and war crimes” are the accusations that led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, six months from the request sent by the Chief Prosecutor of the Court Karim Khan. The Hague Tribunal “found reasonable grounds to believe” that both had used “starvation as a method of warfare” by limiting humanitarian aid, and had intentionally targeted civilians in the war against Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli prime minister’s office rejected “with disgust the actions and accusations” of the Court, calling them “absurd and false”. “The anti-Semitic decision of the ICC is the equivalent of a modern Dreyfus trial,” he continued, later accusing the Hague Court prosecutor of being “corrupt” and of trying to “save his skin from accusations of sexual harassment.” .

Gallant said the decision “encourages murderous terrorism” and President Isaac Herzog spoke of a “dark day for justice.” For Hamas, however, the move “corrects a long-standing injustice against the Palestinian people”. The Court also issued an arrest warrant against the leader of the fundamentalist group, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, commonly known as ‘Deif’. The prosecutor’s office has not been able to determine whether he is dead or still alive. The arrest warrant for Netanyahu marks the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice. This has put Israel’s allies, including some of its closest European partners, in an awkward position. Holland said it was ready to apply the arrest warrant. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that Italy supports the ICC and will evaluate what to do with its allies. The High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, stressed that arrest warrants are a legal and not a political issue, and that they are binding on all 27 EU member states.

Despite the warrants, neither Netanyahu nor Gallant are likely to face judges in The Hague anytime soon. Countries that recognize the court are required to detain suspects who have an arrest warrant if they set foot on their territory, but the court has no way to enforce the order. For example, Russian President Vladimir Putin, wanted on an International Criminal Court warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, recently visited Mongolia, a member state of the Court but also an ally of Russia, and was not arrested. It is true, however, that the judges’ decision complicates any trip abroad by Netanyahu and Gallant. The arrest warrants were issued by a three-judge panel in a unanimous decision. The panel said that lack of food, water, electricity, fuel and specific medical supplies created conditions “calculated to lead to the destruction of some of Gaza’s civilian population,” including the deaths of children from malnutrition and dehydration. They also noted that by preventing access to hospital supplies and medicines in the Strip, doctors were forced to operate, including amputations, without anesthesia or with unsafe means of sedation that led to “great suffering.” The war in Gaza has lasted for 13 months and the death toll, communicated by the local authorities, has exceeded 44 thousand.