The International Criminal Court in The Hague also issued arrest warrants for former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif.
This Thursday, November 21 the International Criminal Court ( CPI ) of The Hague issued arrest warrants against the Prime Minister of Israel , Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant who was dismissed from his position in early November.
They are accused of overseeing war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip during the conflict between Israel and the militant group. Hamas which has been going on for over a year.
The measure also took into account a arrest warrant against the leader of the organization, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri .
To the latter, known as Mohammed Deif, He is accused of directing crimes committed as part of the war that began on October 7, 2023. .
This was the date on which Hamas carried out a direct offensive against Israeli territory, which left 1,200 dead and 250 hostages captured. Of this number, around a hundred remain captive.
For their part, the Israeli forces They responded with continued attacks in the Gaza Strip, which left more than 40,000 people dead. according to local health authorities.
The gradual increase in tensions in the Middle East has led to Israel has clashes with Hamas in Gaza, with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with Iran, with the Houthis in Yemen and with Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq. .
Why arrest warrants were issued for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant
Karm Khan, ICC prosecutor requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallan in May alongside three senior Hamas officials.
In this case, presented independently of the accusations of acts of genocide, Netanyahu and Gallant face accusations including using hunger as a weapon of war in Gaza and leading attacks on civilians. .
The arrest warrants were issued by a panel of three judges and The decision was taken unanimously. according to the international news agency, P.A. .
They argued that They found “reasonable grounds to believe” that the two are responsible in the crimes of which they are accused.
The accusations were categorically rejected by the Israeli government .
The ICC is intended to be a court of last resort to intervene when a country’s courts fail to prosecute abuses .
According to information retrieved by The economist , Israel’s attorney general told Netanyahu earlier this year that the formation of a state investigative commission could have blocked that of the ICC. .
Despite this, The judges said in their ruling that Israel had not done so.
How Israel reacted to the arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant
Israeli leaders, politicians and officials of all stripes They criticized the decisions taken by the ICC .
Israel’s new Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said the move was “a moral shame, completely tainted by anti-Semitism” .
He added that “takes the international justice system to an unprecedented level” .
On the other hand, the leader of the left-wing Democrats, Yair Golan, declared that It’s a “shameful decision” .
Netanyahu himself said in a speech shared on his social media: “The ICC’s anti-Semitic decision is a modern Dreyfus trial” .
With such statements, refers to the case of Aldred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army falsely accused of high treason in 1894 according to the rescue National geographic .
However, according to a study carried out by The economist, “Nothing in the Court’s history suggests an obsession with Jews” .
“Since its creation in 2002, the ICC has primarily prosecuted African warlords and despots, such as Omar al-Bashir, a Sudanese dictator, and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the longtime Libyan tyrant. Over the past two years, he has issued arrest warrants for several Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, following the invasion of Ukraine. This is the first time he accuses the Israelis “.
Why the arrest warrant was issued for Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas
Mohammed Deif is accused of leading murder, torture, rape and hostage-taking cases as part of the direct offensive led by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel claims it killed him in an airstrike in July this year, but the militant group has not confirmed his death. .
The court issued the order because he could not corroborate your destiny.
Khan, the ICC prosecutor, withdrew requests for arrest warrants against two other senior Hamas officials, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh .
This last reason is due to the fact that it is confirmed that They were both murdered this year. by Israeli attacks.
What consequences will the arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Benjamin Netanyahu have?
Neither the prime minister nor the former defense minister faces extradition because Israel is not a member of the ICC.
There are 124 member countries of the court, so Netanyahu and Gallant will not be able to visit these countries since they could be arrested.
After the ICC decision was announced, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: The orders are binding on all 27 EU member countries .
According to comments reported by the aforementioned media outlets from Netanyahu’s former deputy national security adviser, Eran Etzion, Israeli Prime Minister “completed his journey as a legitimate leader on the international scene” .
Nevertheless, The United States is excluded from this scenario, since it is also not a member of the ICC. .
The current president of the North American country, Joe Biden will leave office on January 20, when President-elect Donald Trump assumes his second term. at the White House.
Republican Congressman Mike Waltz, chosen by Trump to become his national security adviser, warned that there will be a “strong response” against “anti-Semitic prejudice” of the court.
In the same way, New Senate Majority Leader John Thune qualified the ICC measure as “scandalous, illegal and dangerous”.
At the same time, he declared that “these actions threaten Israel, but, if nothing is done, could pose a threat to the United States in the future “.
In June this year, The US House of Representatives – the Lower House – has approved a bill to implement economic sanctions and visa restrictions. to judges and others linked to the ICC.
Thune urged Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to pass the bill. which the Biden administration opposed.
He assured that, Otherwise, Republicans would make it a “top priority” in January .
As for the Democratic Party, opinions on the war in the Middle East are divided .
The current government finds itself at a crossroads in which, although he opposed legal action against Israel, he supported an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and resisted the ICC sanctions bill that the House of Representatives approved in June.
According to the rescue The economistNovember 20 Senate rejects three motions calling on Biden to stop some arms shipments to Israel .
Nevertheless, 17 of 47 Democratic representatives — and two independents who support them — voted in favor of at least one of them. .
Source: Latercera
I am David Jack and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. As an experienced journalist, I specialize in covering sports news with a focus on golf. My articles have been published by some of the most respected publications in the world including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.
