The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defense minister, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif.
Specifically, the ICC accused Netanyahu and Gallant of being "co-perpetrators" in the "war crime of starvation as a method of warfare" and the "crime against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts" committed between at least October 8, 2023, and May 20, 2024, the day the prosecution filed the applications for arrest warrants.
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, blasted the “outrageous decision.”
"This is a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity," he said in a statement. "Taken in bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughing stock. It makes a mockery of the sacrifice of all those who fight for justice - from the Allied victory over the Nazis till today. It ignores the plight of the 101 Israeli hostages held in brutal captivity by Hamas in Gaza. It ignores Hamas’ cynical use of its own people as human shields. It ignores the basic fact that Israel was barbarically attacked and has the duty and right to defend its people. It ignores the fact that Israel is a vibrant democracy, acting under international humanitarian law, and going to great lengths to provide for the humanitarian needs of the civilian population. Indeed, the decision has chosen the side of terror and evil over democracy and freedom, and turned the very system of justice into a human shield for Hamas’ crimes against humanity. This cynical exploitation of the international legal institutions reminds us once again of the need for true moral clarity in the face of an Iranian empire of evil that seeks to destabilize our region and the world, and destroy the very institutions of the free world."
This is a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) November 21, 2024
Taken in bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughing stock. It makes a mockery of the sacrifice of all those who fight for justice - from the Allied victory over…
Netanyahu's office ripped the “absurd and false accusations" in the arrest warrant and said the PM "will not recoil or withdraw until all of the war’s goals — that were set at the start of the battle — are achieved.”
🚨JUST IN: Prime Minister's Office: Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and charges against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a biased and discriminatory political body. The decision was made by a corrupt chief prosecutor trying to save his…
— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) November 21, 2024
Other Israeli leaders echoed those statements.
Official statement by Israel 🇮🇱 Speaker of Parliament @AmirOhana in response to ICC's shameful decision 👇 https://t.co/Iplm9qrwQK
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) November 21, 2024
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Deif, Hamas' military chief, though it's unclear whether he is alive.
The I.C.C. chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, in May had also sought arrest warrants for Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, and Ismail Haniyeh, another top figure in the militant group. But both have since been killed. Israel claimed it had killed Mr. Deif in an airstrike in Gaza in July, but the court said on Thursday that it was “not in a position to determine” whether Mr. Deif was still alive, and was therefore issuing the warrant against him. (NYT)
Editor's Note: This is a breaking news post and may be updated with additional information.