In a groundbreaking decision today, amidst the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan applied for arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, MOD Yoav Gallant and Palestinian Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim AL-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh.
Mr. Khan stated that in his opinion all five bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine.
According to him: “Today’s applications are the outcome of an independent and impartial investigation by my Office. Guided by our obligation to investigate incriminating and exonerating evidence equally, my Office has worked painstakingly to separate claims from facts and to soberly present conclusions based on evidence to the Pre-Trial Chamber.
The independent judges of the International Criminal Court are the sole arbiters as to whether the necessary standard for the issuance of warrants of arrest has been met. Should they grant my applications and issue the requested warrants, I will then work closely with the Registrar in all efforts to apprehend the named individuals. I count on all States Parties to the Rome Statute to take these applications and the subsequent judicial decision with the same seriousness they have shown in other Situations, meeting their obligations under the Statute. I also stand ready to work with non-States Parties in our common pursuit of accountability.”
Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the Minister of Defence of Israel, are held accountable for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the State of Palestine (specifically in the Gaza Strip) from at least 8 October 2023:
- Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, a war crime under article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Statute;
- Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health, a war crime under article 8(2)(a)(iii), or cruel treatment as a war crime under article 8(2)(c)(i);
- Wilful killing, a war crime under article 8(2)(a)(i), or murder as a war crime under article 8(2)(c)(i);
- Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, a war crime under articles 8(2)(b)(i) or 8(2)(e)(i);
- Extermination and/or murder, crimes against humanity under articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(a), including in the context of deaths caused by starvation;
- Persecution as a crime against humanity under article 7(1)(h);
- Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity under article 7(1)(k).
Palestine
Yahya Sinwar (Head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (“Hamas”) in the Gaza Strip), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim AL-Masri, also known as Deif (Commander-in-Chief of the military wing of Hamas, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades), and Ismail Hanyeh (Head of Hamas Political Bureau) bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 7 October 2023:
- Extermination as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(b) of the Rome Statute;
- Murder as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(a), and as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
- Taking hostages as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(iii);
- Rape and other acts of sexual violence as crimes against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(g), and as war crimes pursuant to article 8(2)(e)(vi) in the context of captivity;
- Torture as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(f), and as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the context of captivity;
- Other inhumane acts as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(k), in the context of captivity;
- Cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the context of captivity; and
- Outrages upon personal dignity as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(ii), in the context of captivity.