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

    Umito Posted on

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    The 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 arrest warrants mean the court has reason to believe all three 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 called a war crime.

    The two men 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 blocked essential humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

    More: Starvation ‘worst’ possible in Gaza: 1.84 million people suffering from acute malnutrition, report says

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

    Netanyahu and Gallant could also bear “criminal liability” for intentionally attacking civilians, the court ruled.

    The alleged crimes occurred from the aftermath of last year’s October 7 attacks on Israel until at least May 20, when ICC prosecutor Karim Khan filed requests for arrest warrants.

    Netanyahu and Gallant have denied the accusations and refused to surrender for arrest.

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

    “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not give in to pressure. He will continue to pursue all the goals that Israel has set for itself in its just war against Hamas and the Iranian terrorist axis.

    Gallant said the court’s decision “places the State of Israel and the murderous leaders of Hamas on an equal footing.”

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

    Will Netanyahu and Gallant be arrested?

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

    As the Court does not have its own police force, it must rely on countries signatory to the Rome Statute to carry out arrests.

    This means the arrest warrant could prevent Netanyahu and Gallant from traveling to any of the 124 signatory countries to the statute, where they could be arrested.

    But even countries that have signed the statute sometimes do not necessarily carry out arrests on orders from the ICC.

    For example, Mongolia, signatory to the statute, didn’t stop Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the country in September. Putin is wanted for arrest by the court for alleged crimes related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Who was the Hamas leader wanted for arrest?

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

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

    Although some reports indicated that Deif was killed, ICC prosecutors said on November 15 that they could not confirm whether he was dead or alive. The court also filed arrest warrants for senior Hamas leaders. Yahya Sinwar And Ismail Haniyehbut withdrew them after the two men were confirmed dead in Israeli attacks. The ICC said Deif was wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, starting with the Hamas attack last October 7, including murder, extermination, torture, hostage-taking, rape and other forms of sexual violence and “attacks on personal dignity”.

    More: Lost friends, disagreeing relatives: how October 7 transformed life in the United States

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

    Under their command, the ICC said, Hamas fighters “carried out massacres” 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 defines the crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and the procedure used by the Court to prosecute them. It gives the court jurisdiction over people suspected of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and, since 2018, the crime of aggression.

    The status was established in 1988, when the first ICC was established through a conference of 160 countries.

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

    According to the statute, the pre-trial division of the court may issue an arrest warrant if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the person has committed one of the crimes within its jurisdiction.

    An arrest warrant could also be issued to ensure that a person will appear for trial or to prevent them from prosecuting a crime or obstructing an investigation of a crime.

    Once 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 take the case to trial. If the suspect is not arrested, ICC officials can present legal arguments, but hearings cannot begin.

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

    Has the United States signed the Rome Statute?

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

    The United States refuses to sign the statute, in part because it fears it would expose members of the U.S. military to international prosecution.

    Although the United States played a role in the creation of the Court, it was one of seven countries to vote against the Rome Statute in 1998.

    Bill Clinton signed the statute two years later, but it was never ratified by the U.S. Senate, and George W. Bush effectively made the United States leave the list of signatories.

    Umito
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