For alleged war crimes, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested arrest warrants for prominent Israeli and Hamas figures.
Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor, announced on Monday that his office had requested arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas officials in connection with suspected crimes committed during the October 7 attack on southern Israel, which was spearheaded by Hamas, and Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza.
Who does Khan holds responsible for war crimes?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are suspected of “criminal responsibility” for “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” according to Khan, who stated his office had “reasonable grounds” to believe this.
Khan has requested the issuance of arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (commonly referred to as Deif), on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel has “intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival,” according to information that Khan’s team has uncovered.
He said, “This occurred alongside other attacks on civilians, including those who were waiting in lines for food; obstructions to the delivery of aid by humanitarian organizations; and attacks on and killing of aid workers, which resulted in the closure or curtailment of operations for many agencies in Gaza.”
Khan went on to say that Israel planned to utilize famine as a “method of war” and that this was why it was sealing off border crossings and limiting the flow of food, water, and medical supplies into the Gaza Strip.
According to Khan, his office had “reasonable grounds to believe” that Sinwar, Deif, and Haniyeh were “criminally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians” during the October 7 attacks, among other alleged crimes committed by Hamas.
He stated that there were “reasonable grounds” to think that the hostages taken by Hamas and detained in Gaza have been kept in “inhumane conditions and that some have been subject to sexual violence, including rape, while being held in captivity,” and that the organization’s attacks on southern Israel “demand accountability.”
Scotland’s newspaper on ICC’s arrest warrant
A Scottish newspaper called “The National” covered on this topic on 21st May 2024 after the ICC’s arrest warrant. It printed the face of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu as the main cover.
While the arrest warrant of ICC was declared in May, for several months protests against Netanyahu was seen on several countries including Israel. But this was the first official arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court.
Hamas’s response against these arrest warrants
Hamas condemned the request for arrest warrants for Israeli officials and its leaders, claiming that it “equates the victim with the executioner.”
The group declared in a statement that it is entitled to use “armed resistance” as a means of resisting Israeli occupation.
Israel’s response against these arrest warrants
Israel does not acknowledge the jurisdiction of the ICC and is not a member of it. A number of Israeli ministers criticized Khan’s declaration. Benny Gantz, the cabinet minister for war, called the action a “crime of historic proportion.”
“It is a profound distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy to draw comparisons between the leaders of a bloodthirsty terror organization and the leaders of a democratic nation determined to defend itself against heinous terror,” Gantz declared.
Leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, referred to the choice as a “disaster”. The choice, according to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, is a “show of hypocrisy and Jew hatred”.
“A warrant for their arrest is a warrant for our arrest,” he declared.
Netanyahu declared last month that if the ICC issued arrest warrants for high-ranking government officials, it would be a “scandal on a historic scale.”
Current conditions of
Aid organizations have warned of widespread starvation and severe shortages of fuel and medical supplies, while Palestinian health authorities report that Israel’s war on Gaza has claimed at least 35,500 lives.
According to the news media Al Jazeera count based on Israeli figures, the Hamas-led invasion on Israel resulted in at least 1,130 deaths and approximately 250 hostages.