International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu

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Several humanitarian agencies warned the international community must heed a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned the “important” announcement hinges on the “governments’ willingness to support justice.”

“The ICC arrest warrants against senior Israeli leaders and a Hamas official break through the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law,” said Balkees Jarrah, an associate international justice director at HRW.

“These warrants should finally push the international community to address atrocities and secure justice for all victims in Palestine and Israel.”

The top criminal court released arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday, accusing them of war crimes during Israel’s 13-month onslaught in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.

Following the announcement, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, said human rights leaders “must work together to keep the flame of accountability burning bright,” in a post on X.

The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem called on “all states parties” to respect the decision and “enforce the warrants.”

“Personal accountability for decision-makers is a key element in the struggle for justice and freedom,” B’Tselem said on Thursday. “The Israeli government’s policy has resulted in tens of thousands of civilians killed, hundreds of thousands of civilians starved and the horrific suffering of millions.”

The UK-based NGO, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), said the ICC announcement “must be a turning point for Gaza and the broader region.”

“Israel’s ongoing violations against Palestinians have been emboldened by decades of impunity and the attacks on Gaza in the past year have devastated the health system and caused enormous civilian suffering,” MAP said in a statement to CNN.

“Palestinians can wait no longer for justice and protection under the law, and the UK must not be an ally to atrocities.”

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office responded to the ICC’s decision saying, “Israel utterly rejects the absurd and false actions and accusations against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a politically biased and discriminatory body.”

At least 22 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a family home in central Gaza on Wednesday, according to a medical official.

Ten of those killed in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood were children, Dr. Muneer Alboursh, director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told CNN.

Emergency crews were working to recover people from the rubble, Gaza’s Civil Defense said, adding that the death toll was expected to rise.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on the airstrike.

A Palestinian inspects the rubble of a building in Beit Lahia, Gaza on November 21.

Israeli strikes on northern Gaza killed at least 65 Palestinians overnight, a hospital director told CNN, adding that the toll is expected to rise.

Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, said on Thursday morning that casualties were still being brought to the hospital.

About 200 people were believed to have been at the site when the Israeli military struck, the doctor said in an interview with Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV.

Medical staff were recovering bodies from under the rubble “using their hands,” he added. Rescue teams previously told CNN they could not access parts of northern Gaza besieged by the Israeli military, which launched renewed attacks that it says are targeting Hamas’ renewed presence.

Safiya warned that the hospital “will turn into a mass grave if urgent intervention from international organizations does not occur and medical supplies are not brought in,” adding that “not a single ambulance” was available in northern Gaza.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on the airstrike.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel on July 13.

When the ICC first announced its request for an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu six months ago, most people in Israel didn’t think chief prosecutor Karim Khan would ever actually follow through.

The prosecutor’s allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity were widely derided by the Jewish state and only seemed to knit Israelis more tightly together - in the face of what many considered a biased opinion.

Since then, Netanyahu’s popularity in Israel has slowly grown from its dismal standing in the wake of Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack last year.

On the streets of Jerusalem, despite the most profound and perhaps consequential move against its political leaders, people were shrugging off allegations that the prime minister bears “criminal responsibility for war crimes” including “starvation as a method of war” and “crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.”

One woman told CNN she supports the prime minister against the “biased” accusations.

Part of the country readily believes the Prime Minister’s Office statement Thursday claiming the ICC has taken an “antisemitic” decision. They are likely to band behind Netanyahu, because the country as a whole will likely feel they’re under siege and misunderstood.

There will be very few people who will dare openly and loudly throw their support behind the ICC, whatever they think about Netanyahu, his deadly Gaza war tactics, or the eye popping Palestinian death toll. Above all, they see the ICC as another international institution that, like the UN, doesn’t understand them and what it takes to survive in this region.

For those outside Israel who believe Khan’s principled legal challenge is going to change the mood in the country, that shift will not bear out overnight, not in the near term - and possibly not for a generation.

Palestinian politicians have celebrated a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in relation to alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) government said in a statement that the court’s decision “restores hope and confidence in international law and its institutions, and in the importance of justice, accountability and the prosecution of war criminals.”

The PA is headquartered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and exercises nominal self-rule in parts of the territory.

The criminal court released arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on Thursday, accusing them of war crimes in Gaza – where more than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its campaign, according to the Ministry of Health there.

Mustafa Barghouti, an independent Palestinian politician, commended the ICC’s “decisive action” as a “critical step toward accountability and justice for the countless victims of Israel’s violations,” in a statement to CNN on Thursday.

Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, said it was “incumbent upon all parties” to enforce the ICC measures. While the court cannot enforce arrests, signatory states are obliged to apprehend those facing warrants.

“The ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant is not only a step towards accountability and justice in Palestine but also a step to restore the credibility of the rules based international order and its judicial system,” he posted on X.

Palestinians mourn over the the bodies of a family killed by an Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on September 15.

At least 44,056 Palestinians have been killed and another 104,268 people injured since Israel launched its military onslaught in Gaza after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, according to the Ministry of Health there.

In the past 24 hours, Israeli attacks have killed at least 71 Palestinians and injured another 176 people, the health ministry reported on Thursday.

The rulings of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are not political and must be implemented, Josep Borrell, Vice-President of the European Commission, said.

His comments came after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The move triggered outrage from the Israeli government.

At a news conference held at the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Amman on Thursday, Borrell said that the ICC’s arrest warrants are not political decisions and must be respected and implemented.”

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi echoed Borrell’s remarks.

“The international community cannot selectively accept ICC decisions in some cases while rejecting them in others,” Al-Safadi said.

He called on the international community to view the ICC’s decision as a message to “halt massacres in Gaza” and to ensure the delivery of aid to the besieged territory.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) building is seen on November 21 in The Hague, Netherlands.

The ICC was established in 2002 and is tasked with prosecuting individuals for crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

While the ICC is independent of the UN, it is endorsed by the UN’s General Assembly and maintains a cooperation agreement with the UN. When a case is not within the ICC’s jurisdiction, the UN Security Council can refer that case to the ICC.

The court can investigate alleged crimes committed on the territory, or by a national, of any state that has accepted the court’s jurisdiction by signing the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. Any member state can ask the ICC’s prosecutor to launch an investigation.

Key powers missing: More than 120 countries are signatories to the Rome Statute, but Israel is not, nor are some major powers including the US, Russia, China and India. While the ICC cannot enforce arrests, signatory states are obliged to apprehend those facing warrants.

In light of the ICC’s decision on Thursday, all member countries are compelled to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant should they step foot on their territory.

The ICC has previously issued arrest warrants against former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, Saif Gadhafi, the son of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, and most recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The office for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described a criminal warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes committed in Gaza as “absurd” and “discriminatory.”

The office claimed the announcement by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was “anti-Semitic” and “politically biased.”

“Israel utterly rejects the absurd and false actions and accusations against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a politically biased and discriminatory body,” the statement said.

“There is no more just war than the one Israel is fighting in Gaza since October 7, 2023, after the Hamas terrorist organization launched a murderous attack against it, carrying out the largest massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” the statement added.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not yield to pressure, will not back down, and will not retreat until all the goals of the war set by Israel at the start of the campaign are achieved.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a military ceremony in Israel on October 31.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Ministry Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes committed during Israel’s war in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.

The court also issued a warrant for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif – a Hamas leader who Israel says was one of the masterminds of the October 7 attacks. Israel said Deif was killed in an airstrike earlier this year.

Here’s the timeline of events:

• ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants: In May, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan told CNN he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, and the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – alongside two other Hamas officials – on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

• What did Israel say? At the time, Israeli officials – including Netanyahu – condemned the decision. The Israeli prime minister said the decision “will not deter” Israel from carrying out its campaign in Gaza.

• What did Hamas say? The militant group said it “strongly condemns the attempts of the ICC Prosecutor to equate victims with aggressors by issuing arrest warrants against a number of Palestinian resistance leaders without legal basis.”

• ‘Nobody is above the law’: In the months after Khan’s announcement, a panel of ICC judges assessed Khan’s submission – eventually finding “there was no reason to halt the consideration of the applications for warrants of arrest,” according to an ICC statement Thursday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks during a ceremony in Jerusalem on November 10.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has joined other Israeli politicians in condemning the decision of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Sa’ar said the ICC had “lost all legitimacy for its existence and actions. It acted as a political tool serving the most extreme elements working to undermine peace, security, and stability in the Middle East.”

Sa’ar went on: “These orders are aimed not only personally against [Netanyahu and Gallant] but also represent an attack on Israel’s right to defend itself.”

The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir said: “The issuance of arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and MK Yoav Galant is an unparalleled disgrace, though not surprising at all.”

Ben-Gvir added: “The International Criminal Court in The Hague once again demonstrates that it is antisemitic from start to finish. This is complete madness. I stand with the Prime Minister in this just war.”

President Isaac Herzog meanwhile described the warrants as “a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity.”

The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands in January 2019.

Israel does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court as it hasn’t signed the Rome Statute, which established the court. But that doesn’t mean its citizens cannot be prosecuted by the court.

The court had already been investigating possible crimes committed by Israel since 2014 in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. The investigation began in March 2021, and was referred to the court by the Palestinian Authority, which adopted the ICC’s mandate in 2015 as the State of Palestine. The ICC concluded then that it has jurisdiction on the conflict and, “by majority, that the territorial scope of this jurisdiction extends to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”

Netanyahu in May said that issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials would leave an “indelible stain” on the edifice of international law and justice, adding that the ICC was “founded as a consequence of the Holocaust” and should not attempt to “undermine” Israel’s fundamental right to self-defense.

Palestinian leaders have signed up to the Rome Statute in 2015. As such, the ICC has jurisdiction over actors in Gaza and other Palestinian territories and by extension, over actors in those territories, including Hamas.

The International Criminal Court also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas official Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif, who Israel said it killed in an airstrike in September.

The ICC said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Deif is responsible for “crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, torture, and rape and other form of sexual violence, as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture, taking hostages, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape and other form of sexual violence.”

Deif bears “criminal responsibility” for these crimes, the court said, having “committed the acts jointly and through others… having ordered or induced the commission of the crimes,” and for failing to “exercise proper control over forces under his effective command and control.”

The court added that there are “reasonable grounds to believe that the crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and systematic attack directed by Hamas and other armed groups against the civilian population of Israel.” Hamas has never acknowledge Deif’s death.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Israel on June 8.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes.

In a statement on Thursday, the Netherlands-based court said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu bears criminal responsibility for war crimes including “starvation as a method of warfare” and “the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”

It rejected Israel’s challenge of the court’s jurisdiction over the matter.