Netanyahu, Gallant issued ICC warrants for war crimes: What’s next? | News from Benjamin Netanyahu

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and a top Hamas leader on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It is the first time that Netanyahu or any Israeli official has been indicted by an international court for the ongoing war on Gaza.

In a ruling released Thursday, the ICC indicted Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif for Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent genocidal war in Gaza. However, Israel claimed to have killed Deif in July. It is unclear if he is still alive.

Indeed, the defendants are now internationally wanted suspects and ICC member states are legally bound to arrest them.

Israeli officials criticized the move, calling it “anti-Semitic”. Here’s what it all means:

What is the ICC charging Netanyahu and Gallant with?

In a decision published online, the court said it had issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least October 8 to at least May 20, 2024” and related to the use of hunger and deliberate targeting of medical facilities.

Court prosecutor Karim Khan first requested the arrest warrants in May. The court says there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear “criminal responsibility” for causing mass starvation in Gaza.

The court has accused both Netanyahu and Gallant of jointly using “starvation as a method of warfare,” referring to Israel’s systemic restriction of food and humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip throughout the war.

The ICC further charged the two leaders with “the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts”, referring to Israel’s deliberate targeting of Gaza’s hospitals and its refusal to allow humanitarian and medical supplies into the Strip.

What happens then? Does the ICC have a case?

The indictment means that there will be a trial if the arrests are made. However, there won’t be a trial until that happens.

Speaking to Al Jazeera after the news of the warrants, political analyst Neve Gordon, professor of human rights law at Queen Mary University of London and vice-president of the British Society for Middle East Studies, said the ICC had a strong case and that proving the Israeli leaders’ intent to weaponize food will be fairly straightforward.

“Israel has been using starvation as a weapon in the Gaza Strip for almost 20 years,” Gordon said. “I think the intention to use food as a weapon is clear from the statements of Israeli leaders and the practices of the Israeli military, and I think it will be easy to prove.”

All 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been targeted, he added, and ambulances and health workers hit in the near-relentless bombing campaigns on the Strip, as Al Jazeera has reported. Gordon said this evidence would help build the ICC prosecutor’s case.

Will this change anything in practice?

It can. Netanyahu and Gallant will find it difficult to travel internationally in the same way they did before Thursday when they could be arrested. This is because all 124 countries that have signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are legally bound to arrest them if they travel to those countries.

However, this would not apply in the US. Washington and Israel are not subject to ICC obligations as they are not members of the court. In practice, it is unlikely that Netanyahu or Gallant will be extradited to the ICC if they travel to the United States.

In addition to this, the ICC has no enforcement powers and lacks its own police force. The court also issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023 for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Putin has not been arrested.

Despite this, human rights organizations welcomed the decision to issue the warrants. Balkees Jarrah, senior adviser at Human Rights Watch, said: “The ICC’s arrest warrants against senior Israeli leaders and a Hamas official shatter the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law.

“Whether the ICC can effectively live up to its mandate will depend on governments’ willingness to support justice, regardless of where abuses are committed and by whom. These rulings should finally push the international community to address atrocities and ensure justice for all victims in Palestine and Israel.”

Analysts also said the ICC’s decision has far-reaching implications for Western nations – particularly the US and European countries such as Germany and Britain that supply arms to Israel.

“By issuing the arrest warrant, the ICC has also made a certain demand on Western countries,” Gordon, the political analyst, told Al Jazeera. “If the leaders of Israel are accused of crimes against humanity, it means that the weapons that the European countries send are used to commit crimes. Western countries must now reassess their trade agreements.”

Which Hamas leader has an arrest warrant issued?

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, also known as Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, in connection with his role in the October 7 Hamas-led attack on army outposts and villages in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,139 people and the capture of more than 250. However, the Israeli military claimed to have killed Deif in July this year.

Deif was the head of Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades. Hamas has not confirmed the commander’s killing.

What reactions have there been to the arrest warrants?

Israeli officials immediately criticized the decision to issue the warrants, saying Israel has the right to defend itself and calling the move “anti-Semitic.”

In a post on X, opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned the court’s ruling, which characterizes Israel’s war on Gaza as a fight for its life “against terrorist organizations.”

Former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman also spoke out against the ruling, writing on X that it shows the “double standards and hypocrisy” of the international community.

“The State of Israel will make no apologies for protecting its citizens and is committed to continuing to fight terrorism without compromise,” Lieberman said.

In May, US President Joe Biden criticized the court’s prosecutors’ decision to seek warrants and said the US would stand by Israel. The United States has not commented on Thursday’s development.