Things Are Getting Worse for Netanyahu: The Hague Court Has Called for the Arrest of the Israeli Prime Minister and Hamas Leaders

The International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor has requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, and Diab Ibrahim Al Masri, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This decision follows accusations related to actions in Israel and the Gaza Strip from October 2023. The Tel Aviv government has strongly condemned the request, calling it hypocritical and disgraceful.

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by Davide Manlio Ruffolo

After weeks of anticipation, Benjamin Netanyahu‘s worst nightmare has come true. The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, has officially requested the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Hague tribunal to issue an arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister, stating that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.” This alone indicates the severity of the situation, but unfortunately for the Tel Aviv leader, there’s more.

In addition to the Israeli Prime Minister, the arrest warrant has also been requested for Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, and Diab Ibrahim Al Masri. Prosecutor Khan accuses all of them of “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed in Israel, regarding the Palestinian terrorists, and in the Gaza Strip, starting from October 7, 2023.

Now, the matter is in the hands of a panel of three judges of the International Criminal Court who will examine the request. If accepted, the arrest warrant will become immediately enforceable. The verdict, according to sources, is expected in the coming days.

EXPLANATION OF THE MEASURE AGAINST NETANYAHU

The request for the arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant, formulated by Prosecutor Khan, refers to the violation of Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute and includes a vast list of charges: “Starving civilians as a method of warfare and as a war crime; intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health; cruel treatment as a war crime.”

Additionally: “Intentional killing or murder as a war crime; intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime; extermination and/or murder, including in the context of deaths by starvation, as a crime against humanity; persecution as a crime against humanity; other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity.” These are extremely serious charges that Netanyahu had tried to avert in every possible way, even asking for the intervention of Joe Biden, despite the United States, like Israel, not being a member of the Hague Court. Now he sees this becoming reality, with the added humiliation of being equated with the terrorists he has been fighting so fiercely.

THE NETANYAHU GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO THE HAGUE COURT

As explained by Prosecutor Khan: “My office believes that the war crimes reported in these applications were committed in the context of an international armed conflict between Israel and Palestine and a non-international armed conflict between Israel and Hamas (along with other Palestinian armed groups) taking place in parallel.” For this reason, “we believe that the crimes against humanity charged were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population in line with State policy. These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day.”

These words did not sit well with Minister Ganz, who went so far as to say: “The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court’s decision to request the arrest warrant is in itself a crime of historical proportions.” The Tel Aviv government, as reported by Ynet citing anonymous Israeli political sources, has lashed out at the Court, stating that what has happened shows “great hypocrisy” and is an “international disgrace.”

La Notizia, 20 maggio 2024