Arrest warrants issued yesterday against Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Galland and the head of the armed forces department of Hamas Mohammed Daif represent a historic development for the International Criminal Court, which has been struggling for 22 years to have its jurisdiction recognized and to gain enforcement powers.
The Court, whose membership is 124 countries (soon to be 125 after Ukraine signed the Rome Statute, its founding treaty), is based in The Hague, the Netherlands, and its mission is to prosecute the perpetrators of the most serious crimes committed around the world when countries lack the will or ability to do so themselves. The court can investigate alleged crimes committed in the territory or by a national of any state that has accepted the court’s jurisdiction by signing the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. Any Member State may request the ICC Prosecutor to open an investigation.
The Rome Statute has not been signed by Israel, nor by certain major powers, including the US, Russia, China and India. While the ICC cannot enforce arrests, signatory states are obliged to arrest those facing warrants.
While convictions are rare, the mere fact of prosecuting individuals alleged to have committed atrocities sends a message: that the international community is determined to fight against impunity for perpetrators.
The arrest warrant against Netanyahu marks the first time that the Court has turned against a leader of a country traditionally backed by the West, a move that has sparked outrage in Israel.
It is unlikely that Netanyahu or Hamas leaders will soon be brought before the court in The Hague. They could be arrested if they travel to, for example, Britain, France or another country that recognizes the ICC. But even in that case the chances of conviction are zero.
The court said in its statement that it has reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Galad have carried out the war crime of starvation as a method of war and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
Since the arrest warrants were first requested there have been many legal challenges. But the court has dismissed all of them and has now issued these arrest warrants.
So what does this mean?
Well, practically speaking, it would mean that Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Galland would not be able to travel to any state that is a signatory to the ICC – some 120 countries around the world, including the UK and many European countries.
If Netanyahu were to travel to any of these countries, he would have to be arrested by the police forces of those countries.
The ICC has previously issued arrest warrants against former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Saif Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, and most recently, Vladimir Putin, for whom an arrest warrant was issued after the invasion of Ukraine, but the Russian president traveled to Mongolia several months ago and was not arrested.
The court does not have its own police force to make the arrests, but relies on member states to carry them out, which is what state parties are legally required to do.
ICC judges issued 56 arrest warrants, resulting in 21 detentions and appearances before the court. Another 27 people remain at large and charges against 7 people have been dropped due to their deaths.
Biden: Scandalous arrest warrants
Joe Biden called the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli leaders “scandalous” in a statement released yesterday, Thursday.
“Whatever the ICC implies, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas,” the outgoing US president commented.
“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” the Democratic outgoing president added.
“We remain deeply concerned about the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants from the troubling procedural errors that led to this decision,” a White House National Security Council spokesman had said earlier.
He reiterated Washington’s position that “the ICC has no jurisdiction in this case.”
The spokesman added that the U.S. government would “discuss next steps with (its) partners, including Israel.”
Donald Trump has not publicly reacted to the warrants so far, but National Security Adviser-designate Mike Walch has signaled there will be a “strong response” and referred to the ICC’s “anti-Semitic bias.” In Congress, Republicans have demanded sanctions against the international court.
Humanitarian agencies called on the international community to take the ICC’s ruling into account
Several humanitarian agencies have warned that the international community should take note of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that the “significant” announcement depended on “the willingness of governments to support justice.”
“The ICC issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli leaders and a Hamas official violates the notion that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law,” said Balkees Jarrah, deputy director of international justice at HRW.
“These warrants should finally push the international community to confront atrocities and ensure justice for all victims in Palestine and Israel.”
Court ruling “must be respected and implemented”, says European Union
International Criminal Court (ICC) rulings are not political and must be implemented, said Josep Borel, vice-president of the European Commission.
At a press conference held at the Jordanian Foreign Ministry in Amman on Thursday, Borel said that ICC arrest warrants are not political decisions and must be respected and implemented.
Israel: ICC decision is “absurd” and “politically biased”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described the criminal warrant for his arrest for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza as “absurd” and “biased.”
The bureau claimed that the ICC’s announcement to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and the former defense minister was “anti-Semitic” and “politically biased.”
“Israel completely rejects the absurd and false actions and accusations against it by the ICC, which is a politically biased and discriminatory body,” the statement said.
“There is no war more just than the one Israel has been fighting in Gaza since October 7, 2023, after the terrorist organization Hamas launched a murderous attack against it, carrying out the largest massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” the statement added. .
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not succumb to pressure, will not back down and will not back down until all the war aims set by Israel at the beginning of the campaign are achieved.”
At least 44,056 Palestinians have been killed and another 104,268 people injured since Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to the Health Ministry there.
In the past 24 hours, Israeli attacks have killed at least 71 Palestinians and wounded 176 others, the health ministry said Thursday.
The full list of countries that should arrest Netanyahu
Of the 124 countries that have signed the Rome Statute of the ICC, 33 are African states, 19 are Asia-Pacific states, 19 are from Eastern Europe, 28 are Latin American and Caribbean states and 25 are Western European and other states.
Albania
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Canada
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Ivory Coast
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guyana
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Kiribati
Latvia
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Mongolia
Montenegro
Namibia
Nauru
Netherlands
New Zealand
Niger
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Norway
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Korea
Republic of Moldova
Romania
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
State of Palestine
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Timor-Leste
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United Republic of Tanzania
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Zambia
So far, the countries that have declared they will respect the decision of the International Court of Justice are the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, and Turkey, while Britain states that it respects the decision but refuses to morally equate Israel with “terrorist groups.”
Belgium stated that Europe must comply and also calls for economic sanctions and the suspension of the Association Agreement, which serves as the legal framework for political and economic ties with Israel. Iraq urged all “free countries” to implement the ICC’s warrants.
Firmly opposed are the Czech Republic, Hungary, Argentina, and, of course, the USA.
