Israel’s Netanyahu, Gallant issued ICC arrest warrants: What’s next?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued apprehension warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his erstwhile Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and a apical Hamas leader connected charges of warfare crimes and crimes against humanity.

This is nan first clip that Netanyahu aliases immoderate Israeli charismatic has been indicted by an world tribunal for nan ongoing warfare connected Gaza.

In a determination posted online connected Thursday, nan ICC charged Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif complete Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks connected Israel and Israel’s consequent genocidal warfare successful Gaza. Israel claimed to person killed Deif successful July, however. It is unclear whether he is still alive.

Effectively, nan defendants are now internationally wanted suspects and ICC personnel states are nether ineligible responsibility to apprehension them.

Israeli officials slammed nan move, calling it “anti-Semitic”. Here’s what this each means:

(Al Jazeera)

What is nan ICC accusing Netanyahu and Gallant of?

In a determination posted online, nan tribunal said it had issued apprehension warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for “crimes against humanity and warfare crimes committed from astatine slightest 8 October until astatine slightest 20 May, 2024” and which related to nan usage of starvation and nan deliberate targeting of aesculapian facilities.

The court’s Prosecutor Karim Khan first requested nan apprehension warrants successful May. The tribunal says location are reasonable grounds to judge Netanyahu and Gallant carnivore “criminal responsibility” for causing wide starvation successful Gaza.

The tribunal has accused some Netanyahu and Gallant of jointly utilizing “starvation arsenic a method of warfare”, referring to Israel’s systemic regularisation of nutrient and humanitarian assistance supplies into nan Gaza Strip passim nan war.

The ICC further accused nan 2 leaders of nan “crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and different inhumane acts” and referenced Israel’s deliberate targeting of Gaza’s hospitals and its refusal to let humanitarian and aesculapian supplies into nan Strip.

What happens next? Does nan ICC person a case?

The indictment intends location will beryllium a proceedings if nan arrests are made. There will not beryllium a proceedings until that happens, however, arsenic nan tribunal does not person nan powerfulness to clasp a proceedings “in absentia”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera aft nan news of nan apprehension warrants broke, governmental expert Neve Gordon, professor of quality authorities rule astatine Queen Mary University of London and vice president of nan British Society for Middle East Studies, said nan ICC had a beardown case, and that proving nan Israeli leaders’ volition to weaponise nutrient will beryllium reasonably straightforward.

“Israel has been utilizing starvation arsenic a limb successful nan Gaza Strip for adjacent to 20 years,” Gordon said. “I deliberation nan volition of utilizing nutrient arsenic a limb is clear by nan statements of Israeli leaders and nan practices of nan Israeli military, and I deliberation this will beryllium easy to prove.”

All 36 hospitals successful nan Gaza Strip person been targeted, he added, and ambulances and healthcare workers deed successful nan near-incessant bombing campaigns connected nan Strip, arsenic Al Jazeera has reported. Gordon said this grounds would thief build nan ICC prosecutor’s cases.

Practically speaking, will this alteration anything?

It may. Netanyahu and Gallant will find it difficult to recreation internationally nan aforesaid measurement they did earlier Thursday, arsenic they could beryllium arrested. That is because each 124 countries that are signatories to nan Rome Statute of nan International Criminal Court are legally obliged to apprehension them if they recreation to those countries.

However, this would not use successful nan United States. Washington and Israel are not taxable to ICC obligations arsenic they are not members of nan court. In practice, it is not apt that Netanyahu aliases Gallant will beryllium handed complete to nan ICC if they recreation to nan US.

Besides this, nan ICC has nary powers of enforcement and lacks its ain constabulary force. The tribunal besides issued an apprehension warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin successful March 2023 for Russia’s penetration of Ukraine, but Putin has not been arrested.

Despite this, quality authorities organisations welcomed nan determination to rumor nan warrants. Balkees Jarrah, elder counsel astatine Human Rights Watch, said: “The ICC apprehension warrants against elder Israeli leaders and a Hamas charismatic break done nan cognition that definite individuals are beyond nan scope of nan law.

“Whether nan ICC tin efficaciously present connected its instruction will dangle connected governments’ willingness to support justness nary matter wherever abuses are committed and by whom. These warrants should yet push nan world organization to reside atrocities and unafraid justness for each victims successful Palestine and Israel.”

Analysts besides said nan ICC’s determination has far-reaching implications for Western nations – peculiarly nan US and European countries for illustration Germany and nan United Kingdom, which proviso arms to Israel.

“By issuing nan apprehension warrant, nan ICC has besides made a definite request connected Western countries,” Gordon, nan governmental analyst, told Al Jazeera. “If nan leaders of Israel are charged pinch crimes against humanity, it intends nan weapons European countries are sending are utilized to transportation retired crimes. Western countries must now reassess their waste and acquisition agreements.”

Which Hamas leader has an apprehension warrant been issued for?

The ICC besides issued an apprehension warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, besides known arsenic Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, relating to his domiciled successful nan October 7 Hamas-led onslaught connected service outposts and villages successful confederate Israel, which resulted successful nan deaths of 1,139 group and nan seizure of much than 250. However, nan Israeli subject claimed to person killed Deif successful July this year.

Deif was nan leader of Hamas’s subject wing, nan Qassam Brigades. Hamas has not confirmed nan commander’s killing.

What reactions person location been to nan apprehension warrants?

Israeli officials instantly slammed nan determination to rumor nan warrants, saying Israel has a correct to take sides itself and calling nan move “anti-Semitic.”

In a station connected X, guidance leader Yair Lapid condemned nan court’s decision, characterising Israel’s warfare connected Gaza arsenic a conflict for its life “against violent organisations”.

Former Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman besides said retired against nan ruling, penning connected X that it shows nan world community’s “double standards and hypocrisy”.

“The authorities of Israel will not apologise for protecting its citizens and is committed to continuing to conflict coercion without compromise,” Lieberman said.

US President Joe Biden successful May criticised nan determination of nan court’s prosecutors to use for warrants, and said nan US would guidelines by Israel. The US has not commented connected Thursday’s development.