Top war-crimes court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, ex-defense minister and a Hamas leader

By MOLLY QUELL, Associated Press

THE HAGUE (AP) — The world’s apical war-crimes tribunal issued apprehension warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his erstwhile defence curate and Hamas’ subject chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in transportation with the 13-month warfare successful Gaza.

The warrants said determination was crushed to judge Netanyahu and erstwhile Defense Minister Yoav Gallant person utilized “starvation arsenic a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian assistance and person intentionally targeted civilians successful Israel’s run against Hamas successful Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny. Hamas has been designated arsenic a violent enactment by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

The enactment by the International Criminal Court came arsenic the decease toll from Israel’s run successful Gaza passed 44,000 people, according to section wellness authorities, who accidental much than fractional of those killed were women and children. Their number does not differentiate betwixt civilians and combatants.

Experts accidental hunger has go wide crossed Gaza and whitethorn person reached famine levels successful the northbound of the territory, which is nether siege by Israeli troops.

Netanyahu condemned the warrant against him, saying Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and mendacious actions” by the court. In a connection released by his office, helium said: “There is thing much conscionable than the warfare that Israel has been waging successful Gaza.”

Gallant, successful a statement, said the determination “sets a unsafe precedent against the close to self-defense and motivation warfare and encourages murderous terrorism.”

The determination turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and could further isolate them, putting them astatine hazard of apprehension erstwhile they question abroad. Its applicable implications could beryllium constricted since Israel and its large ally, the United States, are not members of the court.

Still, the warrant marked the archetypal clip that a sitting person of a large Western state has been accused of warfare crimes and crimes against humanity by a planetary tribunal of justice. It enactment Israel’s allies, including immoderate of its closest European friends, successful an awkward position. Several leaders, including France, welcomed the court’s determination and signaled they mightiness apprehension Netanyahu if helium visited.

The determination “represents the astir melodramatic measurement yet successful the court’s engagement successful the struggle betwixt Israel and Hamas,” said Anthony Dworkin, elder argumentation chap astatine the European Council connected Foreign Relations.

Israeli leaders, politicians and officials crossed the spectrum denounced the warrants and the ICC. The caller defence minister, Israel Katz, who replaced Gallant earlier this month, said Thursday’s determination is “a motivation disgrace, wholly tainted by antisemitism, and drags the planetary judicial strategy to an unprecedented low.”

Human rights groups applauded the move.

The warrants against some sides “break done the cognition that definite individuals are beyond the scope of the law,” the subordinate planetary justness manager astatine Human Rights Watch, Balkees Jarrah, said successful a statement.

The determination came six months aft ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan requested the warrants.

The tribunal issued a warrant for Mohammed Deif, caput of Hamas’ equipped wing, implicit the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that triggered Israel’s violative successful Gaza. It said it recovered tenable grounds to judge Deif was progressive successful murder, rape, torture and the taking of hostages amounting to warfare crimes and crimes against humanity.

In the Hamas-led attack, terrorists stormed into confederate Israel, sidesplitting 1,200 radical — mostly civilians — and taking immoderate 250 others hostage. Around 100 Israelis stay captive successful Gaza, astir a 3rd of them believed to beryllium dead.

Khan withdrew requests for warrants for 2 different elder Hamas figures, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, who person some since been killed. Israel says it besides killed Deif successful an airstrike, but Hamas has ne'er confirmed his death.

FILE – Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court looks up anterior to a property league successful The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

The warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were issued by a three-judge sheet successful a unanimous decision. The sheet said determination were tenable grounds to judge that some men carnivore work for the warfare transgression of starvation and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and different inhumane acts.

The judges said the deficiency of food, water, electricity, substance and circumstantial aesculapian supplies created conditions “calculated to bring astir the demolition of portion of the civilian colonisation successful Gaza,” including the deaths of children owed to malnutrition and dehydration.

They besides recovered that by preventing infirmary supplies and medicine from getting into Gaza, doctors were forced to operate, including performing amputations, without anesthesia oregon with unsafe means of sedation that led to “great suffering.”

The judges besides rejected an Israeli petition challenging the court’s jurisdiction connected the grounds that Israel is not a subordinate authorities successful the tribunal.

Despite the warrants, nary of the suspects is apt to look judges successful The Hague anytime soon. Member countries are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they acceptable ft connected their soil, but the tribunal has nary mode to enforce that.

For example, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted connected an ICC warrant for alleged warfare crimes successful Ukraine, precocious visited Mongolia, a subordinate authorities successful the tribunal but besides a Russian ally. He was not arrested.

Still, the menace of apprehension present complicates immoderate question overseas by Netanyahu and Gallant — including to adjacent allies of Israel. EU overseas argumentation main Josep Borrell said the warrants are binding connected each 27 members countries of the European Union.

France signaled it could apprehension Netanyahu if helium came to its territory. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine called it a “complex ineligible issue” but said France supports the court’s actions.

“Combating impunity is our priority,” helium said. “Our effect volition align with these principles.”

FILE – Benny Gantz, a cardinal subordinate of Israel’s War Cabinet and the apical governmental rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leaves aft a gathering astatine the State Department, Tuesday, March 5, 2024, successful Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Hamas successful a connection welcomed the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant but made nary notation of the 1 against Deif.

Israel’s absorption leaders fiercely criticized the ICC’s move. Benny Gantz, a retired wide and governmental rival to Netanyahu, said it showed “moral blindness” and was a “shameful stain of historical proportionality that volition ne'er beryllium forgotten.”

Yair Lapid, different absorption leader, called it a “prize for terror.”

Israel’s run has caused dense demolition crossed Gaza, decimated parts of the territory and driven astir the full colonisation of 2.3 cardinal radical from their homes, leaving astir babelike connected assistance to survive.

Two days aft Hamas’ onslaught connected confederate Israel, Gallant announced a full seal connected Gaza, vowing not to fto successful food, substance oregon different supplies. Under U.S. pressure, Israel began allowing a trickle of humanitarian assistance to participate a fewer weeks later.

Israel present says it puts nary bounds connected the magnitude of supplies into Gaza. Still, the travel of nutrient and different goods is astatine astir the lowest levels of the war, and the U.N. and different groups person said Israeli subject restrictions are mostly to blame, on with wide lawlessness that has led to theft of assistance shipments.

The lawsuit astatine the ICC is abstracted from different ineligible conflict Israel is waging astatine the apical U.N. court, the International Court of Justice, successful which South Africa accuses Israel of genocide, an allegation Israeli leaders staunchly deny.

Lawyers for Israel argued successful tribunal that the warfare successful Gaza was a morganatic defence of its radical and that it was Hamas fighters who were blameworthy of genocide.

Associated Press journalists Raf Casert successful Brussels, Mike Corder successful The Hague and Josef Federman successful Jerusalem contributed to this report.