ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant & Deif

The warrants are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Gaza war launched by Israel following the 7 October attacks.

In a statement, the ICC pre-trial chamber said there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant intentionally deprived Gaza's civilian population of essential items necessary for survival.

This includes food, water, medicine, fuel, and electricity.

The chamber also found reasonable grounds to hold Netanyahu and Gallant criminally responsible as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally targeting the civilian population.

 "The arrest warrants are classified as ‘secret’ in order to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations,” said the court's spokesperson, Fadi El Abdallah.

“However, the chamber decided to release the information below since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing.

“Moreover, the chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants’ existence.

“At the outset, the chamber considered that the alleged conduct of Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant falls within the jurisdiction of the court.

The chamber recalled that, in a previous composition, it had already decided that the court’s jurisdiction in the situation extended to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

“Furthermore, the chamber declined to use its discretionary proprio motu powers to determine the admissibility of the two cases at this stage. This is without prejudice to any determination as to the jurisdiction and admissibility of the cases at a later stage.” 

It highlighted that decisions to permit or increase humanitarian aid were often conditional and disrupted humanitarian organisations' ability to provide essential goods to Gaza’s population.

 Fadi El Abdallah said the restrictions, together with cutting off electricity and reducing fuel supply, also severely impacted the availability of water in Gaza and the ability of hospitals to provide medical care.

"They were not made to fulfil Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law or to ensure that the civilian population in Gaza would be adequately supplied with goods in need. In fact, they were a response to the pressure of the international community or requests by the United States of America.

“In any event, the increases in humanitarian assistance were not sufficient to improve the population’s access to essential goods.

“Furthermore, the chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that no clear military need or other justification under international humanitarian law could be identified for the restrictions placed on access for humanitarian relief operations.”

Additionally, the ICC rejected two jurisdictional challenges filed by Israel, which is not a signatory to the Rome Statute which established the court.

It said that the acceptance by Israel of the court’s jurisdiction is not required, as the court can exercise its jurisdiction on the basis of the territorial jurisdiction of Palestine.

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