The International Criminal Court Thursday issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. The ICC's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced in May that he would pursue such orders for the top Israeli leaders.
Despite strong legal objections from Israel, the court rejected jurisdictional challenges, stating there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that Netanyahu and Gallant were responsible for alleged violations of international law between Oct. 8, 2023, and May 20, 2024.
The ICC arrest warrants are a mark of shame not of Israel's leaders but of the ICC itself, and its members.
On October 7th, Hamas brutally attacked Israel, murdering, burning alive and raping over 1200 Israelis.
Israel is fighting back the most just of wars against pure evil.…
— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) November 21, 2024
The practical implications remain limited. While Netanyahu and Gallant could face travel restrictions in certain Western nations that recognize ICC jurisdiction, they face no such constraints in the United States, Russia, and numerous other countries that are not signatories to the ICC statute.
The allegations against Netanyahu and Gallant include the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare by restricting essential supplies in Gaza, crimes against humanity including murder through conditions leading to civilian deaths from malnutrition, persecution through depriving fundamental rights, and inhumane acts for preventing medical supplies.
Condemnations began to pour in almost instantly, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling the move "a modern-day Dreyfus trial that will end the same."
"Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and charges against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a biased and discriminatory political body. There is no war more just than the one that Israel has been waging in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, after the Hamas terror organization launched a murderous attack against it, committing the greatest massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust," he said.
This is a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity.
Taken in bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughing stock. It makes a mockery of the sacrifice of all those who fight for justice - from the Allied victory over…
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) November 21, 2024
Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned the ICC for supporting "a biased prosecutor rather than confronting those seeking Israel's destruction," vowing that Israel would act powerfully in all arenas to counter any threats.
President Isaac Herzog criticized the court for ignoring both the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Israel's right to self-defense as a democracy following a brutal attack. He called it "a cynical exploitation of international legal institutions" in the face of Iranian efforts to destabilize the region.
Former Prime Minister Bennett called the warrants "a mark of shame" for the ICC, not Israel's leaders, emphasizing the unified Israeli response to Hamas's Oct. 7 attack.
Opposition Leader Lapid echoed this sentiment, saying the warrants effectively "reward terrorism."
The decision by the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant is a moral disgrace, entirely tainted by antisemitism, and drags the international judicial system to an unprecedented low.…
— ישראל כ"ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) November 21, 2024
Similarly, State Party Chairman Benny Gantz called the decision "moral blindness and a historic disgrace," while former UN Ambassador Gilan Erdan described it as evidence of a "broken and immoral international system" that empowers terrorists while constraining democracies.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid tweeted, "I condemn The Hague court's decision. Israel is defending its life against terror organizations that attacked, murdered, and raped our citizens. These arrest warrants amount to a reward for terrorism."
Shortly after the announcement, Dutch news agency ANP reported – quoting the country's foreign minister – that the Netherlands was prepared to act upon the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
