ICC Issues Arrest Warrants For Israel's Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas Leader
Judges at the International Criminal Court have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The move comes after the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20, that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes connected to the Oct.7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas and the Israeli military response in Gaza.
The ICC said Israel's acceptance of the court's jurisdiction was not required.
Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza. Israel has said it killed Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in airstrike but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.
https://www.reuters.com/world/icc-issues-arrest-warrants-israels-netanyahu-gallant-hamas-leader-2024-11-21/
The ICC's Pretrial Chamber I "found reasonable grounds to believe" that they “each bear criminal responsibility” for:
• “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”
• “murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”
• “starvation as a method of warfare”
“The Chamber also found that the alleged crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza…”
“The arrest warrants are classified as ‘secret’, in order to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations. However, the Chamber decided to release the information… since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing….”
https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-rejects-state-israels-challenges
