ICC issues arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and Mohamed Deif – Middle East live

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In one section of its announcement, the ICC claims that “no clear military need or other justification under international humanitarian law could be identified for the restrictions placed on access for humanitarian relief operations.”

In announcing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the court said:

The Chamber found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the lack of food, water, electricity and fuel, and specific medical supplies, created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza, which resulted in the death of civilians, including children due to malnutrition and dehydration. On the basis of material presented by the Prosecution covering the period until 20 May 2024, the Chamber could not determine that all elements of the crime against humanity of extermination were met. However, the Chamber did find that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of murder was committed in relation to these victims.

In addition, by intentionally limiting or preventing medical supplies and medicine from getting into Gaza, in particular anaesthetics and anaesthesia machines, the two individuals are also responsible for inflicting great suffering by means of inhumane acts on persons in need of treatment. Doctors were forced to operate on wounded persons and carry out amputations, including on children, without anaesthetics, and/or were forced to use inadequate and unsafe means to sedate patients, causing these persons extreme pain and suffering. This amounts to the crime against humanity of other inhumane acts.

Israel's foreign minister calls on world to 'reject this injustice with disgust' after ICC issues arrest warrants

Israel’s recently appointed foreign minister, Gideon Saar, has said the world should reject ICC warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant with “disgust” as an “injustice”.

Posting in Hebrew to social media, Saar said:

These are orders that are not only directed against them personally. In fact, this is an attack on Israel’s right to defend itself. This attack is directed against the most attacked and threatened country in the world, which is also the only country that other countries in the region openly call for and work to destroy.

From a moral perspective, this is a moral aberration that turns good into bad and serves evil.

From a political perspective – issuing the orders against a country that operates according to international law is a reward and encouragement to the axis of evil, which violates it blatantly and consistently.

Decent countries and every decent person in the world must reject this injustice with disgust.

In its announcement of the decision to issue arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant of Israel, the International criminal court has said that “conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing.”

Here is a segment of the announcement about the Israeli prime minister and the former defense secretary:

The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest.

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 below since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing. Moreover, the Chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants’ existence.

With regard to the crimes, the Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu, born on 21 October 1949, prime minister of Israel at the time of the relevant conduct, and Mr Gallant, born on 8 November 1958, minister of defense of Israel at the time of the alleged conduct, 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 Chamber also found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.

Former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett said arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were 'mark of shame' for ICC

The international criminal court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, are a “mark of shame” for the ICC, former prime minister Naftali Bennett said on Thursday.

Reuters reports Israel’s main opposition leader Yair Lapid also denounced the move by the The Hague-based court, calling it “a reward for terrorism”.

There has been no immediate comment yet from Netanyahu or Gallant.

The ICC has also issued a warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes relating to the Gaza war.

The US has welcomed ICC war crimes warrants against Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials for atrocities committed in Ukraine, while denouncing the court’s pursuit of Netanyahu and Gallant, a mixed stance which has exposed the Biden administration to accusations of double standards from many UN members, particularly from the global south.

Some member states have ignored ICC warrants before, but Netanyahu and Gallant would nonetheless risk arrest if they travelled to any country which had signed the 1998 Rome statute.

Khan had requested warrants for three Hamas leaders, two of whom have since been killed, for alleged war crimes relating to the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel in which fighters killed more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 250.

The arrest warrant could increase the external pressure on Netanyahu’s government as the US seeks to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but could well strengthen the prime minister’s political position in Israel in the short term, as most Israelis reject the ICC’s jurisdiction as interference in their country’s internal affairs.

Joe Biden has said he does not believe Netanyahu is doing enough to secure a ceasefire, after the Israeli leader vowed not to compromise over Israeli control over strategic territory inside Gaza. Netanyahu has accused Hamas of failing to negotiate in good faith.

ICC issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Gallant and Deif

The international criminal court has issued arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the county’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant and the Hamas leader Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes relating to the Gaza war.

The warrants put Netanyahu and Gallant at risk of arrest if they travel abroad. There have been unconfirmed reports that Deif may have been killed by Israel.

The court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, had requested the arrest warrants in May, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for causing mass starvation in Gaza that constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On Thursday the court said it had found reasonable grounds to believe that Deif was responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, torture, rape and hostage taking.

We’ll bring you the latest updates on this developing story…