xtroopers
Chief prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan of the International Criminal Court announced on Monday that he was submitting petitions to the ICC for arrest warrants for three senior Hamas leaders: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Ismael Haniyeh, the group’s general political leader; Yahya Sinwar, the group’s military commander in the Gaza Strip; and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, the head of the group’s military branch, are the Hamas leaders mentioned by Khan.
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) will assess the applications and decide if Israel’s continuing battle in Gaza with Hamas satisfies the requirements for the issue of arrest warrants.
In a statement, Khan added, “Today we once again stress that international law and the norms of armed conflict apply to everybody.” “Nobody can act without consequence: not a foot soldier, not a commander, not a civilian leader. Nothing can excuse willfully depriving people of the needs of life, especially so many mothers and children. There is no justification for targeting civilians or capturing hostages.”
The warrants are the result of a months-long investigation into Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip and Hamas’ terrorist attack on the country on October 7. When the current conflict started, Hamas had controlled Gaza for over 20 years and had been labeled a terrorist organization by both Israel and the United States.
On Monday, President Biden referred to the ICC’s action as “outrageous” in a statement.
Mr. Biden stated, “Let me be clear: there is no equivalency—none—between Israel and Hamas, whatever this prosecutor would suggest.” “We will never abandon Israel in the face of threats to its security.”
Responding to the ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants,Israel and Hamas
The move by the ICC top prosecutor was also criticized by Hamas and Israeli officials.
Netanyahu called the ICC’s actions “a moral outrage of historic dimensions” in a social media video message.
vowed not to cooperate with any investigation by the court.
“Mr. Khan draws a distorted and erroneous moral comparison between the Hamas thugs and Israel’s leaders. This is comparable to drawing a moral comparison between Osama bin Laden and President Bush following September 11th. “Netanyahu stated, And I urge all of our allies to remain vigilant against these baseless accusations.
According to the Israeli prime minister, Khan was “recklessly adding fuel to the global antisemitic fires that are blazing. By making this inflammatory choice, Mr. Khan joins the ranks of the greatest antisemite of the modern era.“
“Beyond absurd, it indicates the extent to which the international justice system is at risk of disintegrating,” declared Israeli President Isaac Herzog in response to the announcement.
Herzog stated that the action “encourages terrorism worldwide and transgresses all fundamental judicial regulations. It is absurd and unacceptable for anyone to try to make comparisons between these horrible terrorists and the democratically elected Israeli government, which is striving to uphold international law and fulfill its obligation to defend and protect its citizens.”
The relatives of Israeli hostages who are currently being held in Gaza are represented by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which welcomed the ICC’s decision against Hamas but claimed it was “not at ease with the comparison made between the terrorists of Hamas and the government of Israel. We think that starting talks right away to release the hostages—the surviving so they can receive rehabilitation and the dead so they can be buried—is the best approach to demonstrating this distinction to the rest of the world.”
According to the Reuters news agency, Hamas also disagreed with the ICC prosecutor’s action, stating in a statement that it “creates equality between the victims and the executioner” and urging the court to overturn its ruling.
Which offenses do Gallant and Netanyahu stand accused of?
According to Khan, his team feels that Netanyahu and Gallant are guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, such as starving civilians, killing people deliberately, causing great suffering, planning attacks against civilian areas, killing or exterminating people, persecuting people, and other cruel acts committed during the war against Hamas
“We contend that, in accordance with state policy, the crimes against humanity alleged were committed as a component of a broad and organized assault against the civilian population of Palestine. In our opinion, these crimes are still being committed today, “Khan stated.
According to him, the information gathered by his office “shows that Israel has purposely and systematically deprived the civilian population in all regions of Gaza of things vital to human survival,” including witness and survivor testimony and verified footage.
According to Khan, “Israel has the right, like other states, to take measures to safeguard its population.” “But this right does not release Israel or any other state from its duty to uphold international humanitarian law. Whatever Israel’s military objectives, the methods it used to attain them in Gaza—namely, purposefully causing murder, famine, extreme suffering, and grave harm to the civilian population’s body or health—are illegal.”
Health officials in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said Israel’s aerial and ground campaign in Gaza has been ongoing since October.
Netanyahu has confirmed that 30,000 people have died in Gaza, but he claims that around 50% of those dead were militants.
Which offenses are Sinwar, Hineyah, and Al-Masri allegedly charged with?
According to Khan, his team is of the opinion that Sinwar, Haniyeh, and Al-Masri are guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, such as extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape and other sexual assaults, torture, and other cruel acts, as well as violations of human dignity.
“We contend that, in accordance with organizational policies, Hamas and other armed groups launched a broad and organized assault on Israel’s civilian population, which included the crimes against humanity of which they have been accused. “Furthermore, these actions have resulted in significant loss of life and widespread destruction.”
According to our opinion, some of these crimes still occur today,” Khan stated.
“These individuals planned and instigated the commission of crimes on October 7, 2023, and have, through their own actions, including personal visits to hostages shortly after their kidnapping, acknowledged their responsibility for those crimes,” Khan said, citing interviews with victims and survivors and the gathering of evidence, including videos.
According to Khan, his office has reason to believe that hostages taken from Israel have been kept in inhumane conditions and that some have been subjected to sexual violence, including rape, while being held in captivity, based on medical records, video evidence, and interviews with victims and survivors. He also noted that his office is still looking into “reports of sexual violence committed on October 7.”
In its extraordinary onslaught, Hamas killed over 1,200 people and abducted about 240 others, about 100 of whom are reportedly still alive and being kept captive inside Gaza.
What is the International Criminal Court (ICC)?
International legal norms for warfare are established by a variety of treaties, the most significant of which are the Geneva Convention and the Geneva Protocol. Any breach of those guidelines is a war crime, which carries a possible jail sentence for those who commit it and can be tried at the International Criminal Court, also known as the ICC, in The Hague.
The Rome Statute, an international treaty, served as the foundation for the International Criminal Court. It was established in 2002 and hears cases pertaining to four main types of serious crimes: war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression, and genocide.
Which countries have ratified the ICC, and what countries fall under its jurisdiction?
The United States and Israel are not signatories to the Rome Statute; hence, the ICC only has jurisdiction over the nationals of the 124 states parties to the agreement.
Nonetheless, because the United Nations recognizes the State of Palestine as a signatory to the Rome Statute, Khan has determined that the court does have jurisdiction to punish persons over activities done in the Palestinian territories and against Palestinians in Israel.
“The ICC has jurisdiction over Palestinians in Israel and Israelis acting in Palestinian territory,” Khan stated, adding that the jurisdiction’s territorial extent encompasses Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
