The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday formally issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their role in the genocidal war on Gaza.
The ICC said it was issuing the arrest warrants for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Israel since October 8, 2023, and up to at least May 20, 2024.
The court said it found reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant “each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
The ICC said the two Israeli leaders also “bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”
The court said Netanyahu and Gallant “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
The ICC also announced it was issuing an arrest warrant for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif. Israel claimed to have killed Deif in a strike on a tent camp that killed nearly 90 Palestinians, but Hamas has said he’s still alive. Deif is the head of Hamas’s military wing, known as the al-Qassam Brigades.
The ICC initially sought warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, but they have both been killed by Israel. The court said it was seeking the warrant for Deif for “alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the territory of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine from at least 7 October 2023.”
The charges against Deif are related to the conduct of Hamas fighters in Israel during the October 7 attack, the taking of hostages, and the treatment of hostages. Notably, the court does not allege any sexual violence occurred during the October 7 attack despite claims of mass rape from US and Israeli media. The court does say there’s evidence sexual violence and rape was committed against Israeli hostages in Gaza.
The ICC said it found reasonable grounds to believe Deif is responsible for “the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other form of sexual violence; as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture, taking hostages; outrages upon personal dignity; and rape and other form of sexual violence.”
The warrants mean that Netanyahu, Gallant, and Deif could be subject to arrest in the more than 120 countries that are a party to the ICC. While the ICC went after both Israeli and Hamas leadership, Netanyahu accused the court of making an “antisemitic decision.”
The US also rejected the warrants since US officials are implicated due to all the support and military aid the US has provided to Israel to help it carry out war crimes and crimes against humanity. “The United States fundamentally rejects the Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials. We remain deeply concerned by the Prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” said a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
The US had been putting significant pressure on the court to abandon the warrants against Israeli officials, but the campaign didn’t work. Congress may now advance bills to sanction the ICC.
In response to the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) reminded the ICC that the US has a law on the books that authorizes the use of force against the Hague-based court to free any US or allied government officials or service members, nicknamed the Hague Invasion Act.
“The ICC is a kangaroo court and Karim Khan is a deranged fanatic,” Cotton wrote on X, referring to the ICC’s top prosecutor. “Woe to him and anyone who tries to enforce these outlaw warrants. Let me give them all a friendly reminder: the American law on the ICC is known as The Hague Invasion Act for a reason. Think about it.”
Later in the day, President Biden released a statement slamming the ICC. “The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
