JERUSALEM (AP) — The chief prosecutor at the world’s top war crimes tribunal on Monday issued arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for their actions during the seven-month war. was charged.
Although Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant face no imminent arrest, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor’s announcement was a symbolic blow that deepens Israel’s isolation over the Gaza war.
The court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, indicted Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mr. Gallant, and three Hamas leaders: Yehya Sinwar, Mohamed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. War crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders condemned the move as disgraceful and anti-Semitic. US President Joe Biden also condemned the prosecutors and supported Israel’s right to protect it from Hamas.
AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reported that the United States is condemning the world’s highest criminal court’s move to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders.
a Panel of 3 judges Decide whether to proceed with the case by issuing an arrest warrant. It typically takes a judge two months to make such a decision.
Israel is not a member of the court, so even if an arrest warrant is issued, Netanyahu and Gallant will not be at immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for Israeli leaders to travel abroad.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the charges against him by prosecutors a “disgrace” and an attack on the Israeli military and all of Israel. He vowed to press ahead with Israel’s war against Hamas.
Biden called efforts to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gallant over the Gaza war “outrageous,” adding: “No matter what prosecutors say, there is no equivalent relationship between Israel and Hamas. , not at all,” he added.
Hamas also condemned the ICC prosecutor’s actions, saying the call for the arrest of the group’s leaders “equates the victim with the executioner.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu is under intense pressure at home to end the war. Thousands of Israelis, fearing time is running out, have taken part in weekly demonstrations calling on the government to reach a deal to bring home Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
More recently, two other members of the war cabinet, Gallant and Benny Gantz, threatened to resign unless Prime Minister Netanyahu articulated a clear post-war vision for Gaza.
But on Monday, Netanyahu received wall-to-wall support as politicians from all walks of life condemned the ICC prosecutor’s move. Among them were Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his two main political opponents, Gantz and opposition leader Yair Lapid.
It is unclear what effect Mr. Khan’s actions will have on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s public standing. The possibility of an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could give him a boost as Israelis rally under the flag. But opponents could also accuse him of wreaking havoc on the country’s diplomatic catastrophe.
Yuval Shani, an international law expert at Hebrew University and the Israel Democracy Institute think tank in Jerusalem, said it was far more likely that Netanyahu’s already troubled international standing would deteriorate further. .
“This will oust Prime Minister Netanyahu and severely impair his ability to move around the world,” Shani said. Even if the ICC does not issue an arrest warrant, other countries may now be reluctant to provide aid or assistance, he said.
Hamas is already considered an international terrorist group by Western countries. Both Mr. Shinwar and Mr. Deif are believed to be hiding in Gaza. However, the Islamic extremist group’s top leader, Haniyeh, is based in Qatar and travels frequently to the region. Qatar, like Israel, is not a member of the ICC.
The latest war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, when Gazan militants invaded Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 others hostage.
Since then, Israel has waged a brutal campaign to dismantle Hamas in the Gaza Strip. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, at least half of them women and children, according to the latest estimates from Gaza health authorities.
The war has created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with about 80% of the population displaced and hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation, United Nations officials say.
Khan said of Israel’s actions: “The consequences of the use of starvation as a means of war, along with other attacks and collective punishment against civilians in Gaza, are severe, visible and widely known.” said.
The United Nations and other aid agencies have repeatedly accused Israel of obstructing aid shipments throughout the war. Israel denies this, saying there are no restrictions on the flow of aid into Gaza and accusing the United Nations of not distributing aid.
Commenting on Hamas’ actions on October 7, Khan, who visited the region in December, said he saw with his own eyes “the horrific scenes of these attacks and the serious impact of these unconscionable crimes.” .
Hamas fighters shot many guests at a dance party and killed entire families huddled inside their homes. “There needs to be accountability for these actions,” Khan said.
International human rights lawyer amal clooney He served on a five-member expert panel that advised Khan. According to her statement, she said the panel unanimously agreed that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that both Hamas and Israeli leaders had committed war crimes.
South Africa, which has been leading the genocide case against Israel at the United Nations World Court, welcomed Khan’s announcement calling for the arrest of Israeli and Hamas leaders. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said: “To uphold the international rule of law, the law must apply equally to all.”
The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent court of finality to prosecute those responsible for the world’s most heinous atrocities, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes of aggression.
Although the United Nations General Assembly supported the ICC, the court is independent.
Dozens of countries have not accepted the court’s jurisdiction over war crimes, genocide and other crimes, including Israel, the United States, Russia and China.
The ICC accepted the “State of Palestine” as a member state in 2015, a year after the Palestinians accepted the court’s jurisdiction.
2020, then-President of the United States Donald Trump approved economic and travel sanctions Regarding the ICC prosecutor and another senior prosecutor, ICC staff were investigating the US and allied militaries. Possible war crime In Afghanistan. Biden lifted sanctions in 2021.
Last year, a court issued a warrant to the Russian president Vladimir Putin Hold accountable for kidnapping children from Ukraine. Russia responded by issuing its own arrest warrants for Khan and the ICC judges.
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Associated Press writers Molly Kuel in Delft, Netherlands, and Mike Corder in Ede, Netherlands, contributed to this report.
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