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TPS-IL on 21 November, 2024
International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant
Jerusalem, 21 November, 2024 (TPS-IL) -- The International Criminal Court issued unprecedented arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday, the first time warrants have been issued against leaders from a democratic country.
The unanimous ruling, signed by Judges Nicolas Guillou, Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini Gansou and Beti Hohler, said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant committed crimes against humanity in Gaza, including murder, persecution and using starvation as a tactic of warfare.
Both officials would be liable for arrest if they travel to countries that are party to the ICC.
Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize its jurisdiction. The ICC charter prohibits the court from prosecuting nationals of countries with independent judiciaries.
The legal action was spearheaded by the Palestinian Authority, which in 2014 was recognized by the court as a “State,” leading Israeli officials to accuse the ICC of being politicized.
The court also issued a warrant for Hamas commander Mohammed Deif. Although he was killed in an airstrike in July, Hamas never confirmed Deif’s death.
Other national leaders with outstanding ICC warrants include Russian President Vladimir Putin, former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, Libyan general Mahmoud al-Warfali and God’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
