International Criminal Court requests arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, PM Netanyahu responds

On May 20, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan said that the ICC has requested the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of committing crimes in Gaza.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor said he was seeking arrest warrants for leaders of the Hamas movement and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Illustrative photo. (Source: Reuters)

Mr. Karim Khan announced that he had requested the arrest of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes such as: "starvation," "intentional murder" and "destruction or murder," including refusing to provide humanitarian relief, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.

The prosecutor also said he had requested the arrest of top Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri or Mohammed Deif (leader of the Al Qassem Brigades) on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The arrest warrants for Israeli politicians mark the first time the ICC has targeted a senior leader of a close US ally. The decision places Prime Minister Netanyahu in the same category as Russian President Vladimir Putin, for whom the ICC has issued an arrest warrant over the conflict with Ukraine.

An ICC panel of judges will now consider Mr Khan's application for an arrest warrant.

Pictured are Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right). (Source: Getty/Shutterstock)

Although the request must be approved by court judges, the announcement is a blow to Netanyahu and is likely to spark international criticism of Israel's strategy in Gaza, according to the New York Times.

Last month, when it was reported that the ICC chief prosecutor was considering such action, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he did not accept the agency's excesses, any ICC arrest warrant for senior Israeli military and government officials “would be an affront of historic proportions” and that “Israel has an independent legal system to rigorously investigate any violations of the law.”

Israel and the United States are not members of the ICC. However, the ICC claims jurisdiction over Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank after Palestinian leaders formally agreed to be bound by the court's founding principles in 2015.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli government or Hamas. Israel is not a member of the court and does not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction in Israel or Gaza. But if the warrant is issued, those named could be arrested if they travel to any of the court's 124 member states, which include most European countries but not the United States.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/toa-an-hinh-su-quoc-te-yeu-cau-trat-truy-na-cac-led-leaders-of-israel-va-phong-trao-hamas-phan-ung-cua-thu-tuong-netanyahu-272004.html