Arrest warrants have been issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence secretary Yoav Gallant by the Worldwide Prison Courtroom (ICC).
The warrants are for alleged warfare crimes and crimes towards humanity associated to the warfare in Gaza that Israel launched following the 7 October assaults by Hamas.
One other warrant was issued for the arrest of Hamas chief Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri for warfare crimes and crimes towards humanity.
Al Masri, often known as Mohammed Deif, was the mastermind behind the 7 October assaults.
It’s unclear if he’s nonetheless alive, following an airstrike that Israel claimed killed him earlier this 12 months.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court docket’s jurisdiction and denies committing warfare crimes in Gaza.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett mentioned the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant had been a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The court docket initially mentioned it was in search of arrest warrants for the three males in Could for the alleged crimes and in the present day introduced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
The brand new UK Labour authorities mentioned in the summertime it could not oppose the ICC’s proper to problem the warrants.
Picture:
Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN common meeting. Pic: Reuters
Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant
In its replace, the ICC mentioned it discovered “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court docket mentioned, embrace “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
Netanyahu beforehand spoke of his “disgust” on the suggestion the ICC would search an arrest warrant for him.
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A video launched by Hamas in 2005 exhibits a person recognized as Mohammed Deif. Pic: AP
Warrant for Hamas chief
The ICC additionally mentioned it has issued an arrest warrant for Hamas chief Al Masri, saying it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that he’s accountable for crimes towards humanity together with homicide, extermination, torture, rape, in addition to warfare crimes together with taking hostages.
Discussing the 7 October assaults, the court docket mentioned: “In light of the coordinated killings of members of civilians at several separate locations, the Chamber also found that the conduct took place as part of a mass killing of members of the civilian population, and it therefore concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of extermination was committed.”
In its assertion, the ICC mentioned the prosecution was not able to find out whether or not Al Masri is useless or alive, so was issuing the arrest warrant.
The court docket beforehand mentioned it was in search of an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of Hamas who was subsequently killed in July.
