The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for two Israeli officials, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I announced the decision today, asserting jurisdiction over the State of Palestine and rejecting Israel’s challenges to the court’s authority.
The ICC’s ruling addressed two separate challenges submitted by Israel on September 26, 2024. The first contested the court’s jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, while the second requested a halt to proceedings and a new notification of investigation initiation. The chamber dismissed both challenges, stating that the court could exercise jurisdiction based on the territorial jurisdiction of Palestine and that a new notification was unnecessary as Israel had been informed of the investigation in 2021.
The warrants, which were initially kept secret to protect witnesses and the integrity of the investigation, were made public due to ongoing similar conduct and in the interest of victims and their families. The chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant were responsible for the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare and for crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts against civilians in Gaza from at least October 8, 2023, to May 20, 2024.
The chamber’s decision highlighted that the alleged crimes were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza, noting that the restrictions on humanitarian aid and essential goods were often conditional and insufficient to meet the needs of the population. The ICC also found grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant failed to prevent or repress the commission of crimes or ensure proper investigation into the matters.
The warrants stem from a declaration by the State of Palestine accepting the ICC’s jurisdiction since June 13, 2014, and its accession to the Rome Statute in January 2015. The situation in the State of Palestine was referred to the ICC Prosecutor by Palestine in May 2018, with further referrals from several other countries in late 2023 and early 2024.
The ICC’s decision marks a significant move in the ongoing legal proceedings surrounding the situation in Palestine.
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