THE HAGUE: The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday applied for arrest warrants against Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top Hamas leaders on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutor Karim Khan said he was seeking warrants against Netanyahu and Zionist Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes including “starvation”, “wilful killing”, and “extermination and/or murder”.

“We submit that the crimes against humanity charged were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population pursuant to state policy. These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day,” said Khan in reference to Netanyahu and Gallant.

Charges were also laid against Hamas leaders including Yahya Sinwar, the head of the movement in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, the movement’s political chief, and Mohammed Deif, who heads Hamas’ armed wing. Hamas said it “strongly condemns” the ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against its leaders, but said it supported the ICC’s move against Netanyahu and Gallant. “The Hamas movement strongly condemns the attempts of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to equate the victim with the executioner by issuing arrest warrants against a number of Palestinian resistance leaders,” the group said in a statement.

The landmark request was greeted with outrage in the Zionist entity, with Netanyahu saying he “rejects with disgust” the application, while Foreign Minister Israel Katz slammed the application as “a historical disgrace that will be remembered forever.” US President Joe Biden denounced the “outrageous” application, as Washington warned the move put truce talks at risk. Neither the United States nor the Zionist entity is a member of the ICC and both have rejected its jurisdiction. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken separately denounced the “shameful” application and warned it “could jeopardize” ongoing efforts for a ceasefire.

The ICC prosecutor in 2021 opened a probe into the Zionist entity as well as Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups for possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories. Khan has said this investigation now “extends to the escalation of hostilities and violence since the attacks that took place on October 7, 2023”.

ICC judges will now decide whether the application meets the threshold for the warrants to be formally issued — a process that could take some weeks or even months. “Today we once again underline that international law and the laws of armed conflict apply to all. No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader — no one — can act with impunity,” said the prosecutor.

Legal experts have told AFP that Hamas and the Zionist entity could face war crimes charges over the conflict. Veteran war crimes prosecutor Reed Brody said the application was “a watershed event in the history of international justice.” If granted, the warrant means that technically any of the 124 ICC member states would be obliged to arrest Netanyahu if he travelled there.

But while the warrant could complicate some travel for Netanyahu, the court has no mechanism to enforce its warrants, relying on its members to play ball. Rumors the court was about to take action had swirled for weeks, prompting Netanyahu to publish his reaction beforehand. The Zionist entity would “never accept” the ICC’s “outrageous” rulings, Netanyahu said in a message on X, formerly Twitter. “We will not bow to it.”

Five countries in mid-November called for an ICC probe into the Zionist-Hamas war, with Khan saying his team had gathered a “significant volume” of evidence on “relevant incidents”. But ICC teams have not been able to enter Gaza or investigate in the Zionist entity, which is not an ICC member. Nevertheless, Khan did visit the Zionist entity in November “at the request” of survivors of the Oct 7 Hamas attacks. He then travelled to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to meet senior Palestinian officials.

Opening its doors in 2002, the ICC is the world’s only independent court set up to probe the gravest offences including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is a “court of last resort” and only steps in if countries are unwilling or unable to investigate cases themselves. It hit the headlines in March 2023 when it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children. The court also issued a warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights, on similar charges. – AFP