ICC issues arrest warrants for PM Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant

By JPost
Posted on 11/21/24 | News Source: JPost

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday, the court announced on X/Twitter.

"ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant," the post read.

This means that neither Netanyahu nor Gallant can travel to any of the 120 countries that are party to the Rome Statute.

The ICC said that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant committed the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other humane acts.

The court says it found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant knowingly deprived Gaza’s civilian population of essential supplies, including food, water, fuel, and medical aid, in violation of international humanitarian law.

These actions allegedly created life-threatening conditions, leading to civilian deaths from malnutrition and dehydration. The disruption of medical supplies also resulted in extreme suffering, including surgeries performed without anesthesia.

The ICC says it found that decisions to allow limited humanitarian aid were often conditional and insufficient to alleviate Gaza’s dire conditions. The alleged actions, which disregarded international warnings, formed part of a systematic attack against civilians, the court stated.

While the warrants were classified as "secret" to "protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations," the court released the information because "conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing," it said. 

The court also said it would be in the best interest of the victims and families that they be made aware of the warrant's existence.