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Draft:International Criminal Court Israel–Hamas war arrest warrants

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On _ _ 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for multiple leaders of Israel and Hamas for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Israel–Hamas war.

Those indicted included Benjamin Netanyahu, the President of Israel, Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yahya Sinwar, the chief of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, and Mohammed Deif, the head of the Al-Qassam Brigades.[1] The warrant for Netanyahu was the fourth of its kind for an acting head of state.

Under the Rome Statute, all 123 signatories are legally obligated to arrest and transfer the leaders if they were to step foot on their territory.

Background[edit]

In 2019, the ICC announced it would begin an investigation into crimes committed in the Palestinian Territories, and later that year alleged Israel and Hamas to have violated multiple international laws during the 2014 Gaza War.[2] In 2020, the court ruled that Palestine was a state and that the court did indeed have jurisdiction over the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.[3] In 2021, the court officially began the investigation.[2]

On 7 October 2023, Hamas and allied militants invaded and attacked southern Israel, killing almost 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 250 hostages. Following this, Israel retaliated by imposing a total blockade on Gaza, heavily bombing it, and invading it on 27 October. Both Israel and Hamas were accused of war crimes.[4] South Africa accused Israel of genocide during the war, and brought a case against it in the International Court of Justice.[5]

On 12 October, Khan condemned the violence and called for all sides to remain calm, saying leaders needed to realize "the law will judge all of us". He also said that crimes committed by Israel and Hamas were under the jurisdiction of the court.[6]

On 29 October, Khan visited the Rafah border crossing and delivered a speech. In the speech, he condemned the Hamas attacks. He also said that Israel needed to demonstrate that it can lawfully respond to the attacks.[7] The next day, he toured areas of Israel attacked by Hamas at the request of victims, and delivered a speech saying the attacks violated international law.[8]

On 3 December, Khan said the original investigation was moving faster and called on Israel and Hamas to respect the rule of law.[9]

In April 2024, court prosecutors interviewed doctors in Gaza about potential war crimes.[10]

On 29 April, Israel claimed it expected the court to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli leaders.[11]

On 3 May, the court released a statement calling for the cessation of attempts to intimidate it concerning the case.[12]

On 20 May, the Khan announced he would file to issue arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders.[1]

Charges[edit]

The draft warrants indicted Hamas leaders for extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual violence, torture, inhumane acts, cruel treatment, and outrages against personal dignity.

They warrant indicted Israeli leaders for starvation of civilians, willful killing, intentional attacks on civilians, extermination and murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.[1]

Reactions[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine". icc-cpi.int. ICC. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, respecting an investigation of the Situation in Palestine". International Criminal Court. 3 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-07-22.
  3. ^ "Prosecution Response to the Observations of Amici Curiae, Legal Representatives of Victims, and States" (PDF). International Criminal Court. 30 April 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on Jun 9, 2023.
  4. ^ "Israel-Gaza war in maps and charts: Live tracker". aljazeera.com. Aljazeera. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  5. ^ Rabin, Roni Caryn; Yazbek, Hiba; Fuller, Thomas (2024-01-11). "Israel Faces Accusation of Genocide as South Africa Brings Case to U.N. Court". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  6. ^ "Exclusive: Hamas attack, Israeli response fall under ICC jurisdiction, prosecutor says". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan KC from Cairo on the situation in the State of Palestine and Israel". icc-cpi.int. ICC. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  8. ^ "ICC Prosecutor Calls Oct. 7 Hamas Attack on Israelis 'Serious International Crimes'". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  9. ^ Corder, Mike (20 May 2024). "After visiting Israel and Ramallah, the ICC prosecutor says he will intensify investigations". AP News.
  10. ^ "Exclusive: Gaza hospital staff questioned by ICC war crimes prosecutors | Reuters".
  11. ^ "Israel concerned over possible ICC arrest warrants related to Gaza war". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Scoop: Senators meet with ICC over concerns about possible Israel arrest warrants". axios.com. Axios. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
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