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    • The ICC has issued warrants for Netanyahu and others. So what happens now?
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    The ICC has issued warrants for Netanyahu and others. So what happens now?

    Online Niel Posted on

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    International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister, Yoav Gallantand Ibrahim Al-Masri, a senior Hamas official.

    The warrants mean the court has reason to believe all three have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. But their arrests are far from guaranteed.

    What crimes are Netanyahu and Gallant accused of?

    The court said it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were responsible for using “starvation as a method of war,” which it classified as a war crime.

    The two are also suspected of crimes against humanity as “part of a widespread and systematic attack” on civilians in Gaza, including murder, persecution and “other inhumane acts”.

    According to international prosecutors, Netanyahu and Gallant deprived Gazan civilians of supplies necessary for their survival, including food and medicine, and prevented essential humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

    More: ‘Worst situation’ of famine possible in Gaza as 1.84 million suffer from acute malnutrition, report says

    These actions, prosecutors claim, “created living conditions calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population of Gaza, resulting in the deaths of civilians, including children, from malnutrition and dehydration.”

    Netanyahu and Gallant could also have “criminal responsibility” for intentionally targeting civilians, according to the court.

    The alleged killings took place from the day after the October 7 attacks on Israel last year until at least May 20, when ICC prosecutor Karim Khan filed requests for arrest warrants.

    Netanyahu and Gallant denied the charges and refused to surrender for arrest.

    “Israel completely rejects the false and absurd accusations of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Thursday.

    “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not give in to pressure. He will continue to pursue all the goals Israel has set out to achieve in its righteous war against Hamas and the Iranian terror axis.

    Gallant said the court’s decision “puts the state of Israel and the murderous leaders of Hamas on the same page.”

    “The decision sets a dangerous precedent against the right to self-defense and moral warfare and encourages criminal terrorism,” he said in a statement.

    Will Netanyahu and Gallant be arrested?

    Netanyahu and Gallant will not be arrested on Israeli soil because Israel has not signed the Rome Statute, the central treaty that establishes the court’s jurisdiction and rules.

    Since the court has no police force of its own, it must rely on countries that have signed the Rome Statute to make arrests.

    That means the arrest warrant could prevent Netanyahu and Gallant from traveling to the 124 countries that have signed the statute, where they could be arrested.

    But even countries that have signed the statute sometimes do not necessarily make arrests at the behest of the ICC.

    For example, Mongolia, a signatory to the statute, did not arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visited the country in September. Putin is wanted for court arrest for alleged crimes related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Who was the Hamas leader who is wanted for arrest?

    The court also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, a senior Hamas commander named by the ICC as Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.

    Deif, born in 1965, is the highest-level commander of Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassem Brigades, one of several Palestinian militant groups that orchestrated the October 7 attack on Israel.

    Although some reports say Deif was killed, ICC prosecutors said on November 15 that they could not confirm whether he was dead or alive. The court has also previously issued arrest warrants for senior Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyehbut withdrew them after the two were confirmed dead in Israeli attacks. The ICC said Deif is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity dating back to the October 7 Hamas attack, including murder, extermination, torture, hostage-taking, rape and other sexual violence and “violations against personal dignity”. .

    More: Friends lost, relatives at odds: How October 7 reshaped lives in the US

    The court said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that senior Hamas leaders, including Deif, Sinwar and Haniyeh, agreed together to carry out the October 7 attacks.

    Under their command, the ICC said, Hamas fighters “committed mass murder” in Israel’s border communities and at the Supernova music festival, including shooting and throwing grenades at people seeking shelter. The leaders were also accused of ordering the kidnapping of more than 200 Israeli hostages taken during the attack.

    What is the Rome Statute?

    The Rome Statute sets out which crimes fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and the process the court uses to prosecute them. It gives the court jurisdiction over people suspected of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and, since 2018, crimes of aggression.

    The statute was established in 1988, when the first ICC was created by a conference of 160 countries.

    In issuing the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, the court unanimously rejected Israel’s challenges under the statute.

    According to the statute, the preliminary chamber of the court can issue an arrest warrant if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the person has committed one of the crimes under its jurisdiction.

    An arrest warrant could also be issued to ensure that a person attends a trial or to prevent them from continuing to commit a crime or obstructing an investigation into a crime.

    After a suspect is arrested, the court begins hearings to confirm the charges. Three judges then have 60 days to decide whether the court has enough evidence to bring the case to trial. If the suspect is not arrested, ICC officials can make legal observations, but hearings cannot begin.

    If the judges decide that the evidence is sufficient, the trial begins. Convicts can receive sentences of up to 30 years in prison. Life sentences are handed down only in “exceptional circumstances”, according to the court.

    Has the US signed the Rome Statute?

    The US is not a state party to the Rome Statute, so Netanyahu and Gallant could still enter US borders without risking arrest.

    The U.S. refuses to sign the statute in part because it fears it could open members of the U.S. military to international accusations.

    Although the US played a role leading to the creation of the court, it was one of seven countries that voted against the Rome Statute in 1998.

    Bill Clinton signed the statute two years later, but it was never ratified by the US Senate, and George W. Bush effectively brought out the USA list of signatories.

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