The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Issuing arrest warrants for leaders of a democracy and Western-aligned state is a historic first in the court’s 22-year history, often perceived by the global south as a tool of the West.

The chamber found reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility as co-perpetrators for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.

The Hague-based court also issued a warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif despite Israeli claims of his death in Gaza.

The ICC’s three judges rejected Israel’s challenges to its jurisdiction.

The arrest warrants were initially classified as “secret” but the chamber chose to make them public because “conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing”, referring to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“Moreover, the chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants’ existence,” it added.

Though Israel is not a member of the ICC, the State of Palestine’s membership since 2015 grants the court jurisdiction to investigate Israeli individuals for crimes committed in the Occupied Territories.

All 124 member states who ratified the Rome Statute (the court’s founding treaty) now must arrest and transfer the wanted them to The Hague.

But the ICC lacks direct enforcement powers and depends on the voluntary cooperation of member states to apprehend suspects.

War crime of starvation

The Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear “criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

It added: “The Chamber also found that the alleged crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza.

The court said they “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity, from at least 8 October 2023 to 20 May 2024″.

“This finding is based on the role of Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant in impeding humanitarian aid in violation of international humanitarian law and their failure to facilitate relief by all means at its disposal.”

The judges emphasised that these restrictions on aid, along with cuts to electricity and reduced fuel supply, severely impacted both Gaza’s water supply and the ability of hospitals to provide urgent care.

“The chamber therefore found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant bear criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare,” the court said.

It added that Israelis are charged with crimes against humanity of murder and persecution. 

For Hamas military chief Deif, the panel found reasonable grounds to believe he was responsible for multiple crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Who will enforce the warrants?

International reactions to the ICC’s warrants have been varied. France and the Netherlands declared their readiness to enforce the warrants, while the UK government maintained silence on whether it would implement them.

Netanyahu’s office denounced the chamber’s decision as “antisemitic” and dismissed the ICC as “a biased and discriminatory political body.”

The US position aligned closely with Israel’s. The National Security Council issued a statement “fundamentally” rejecting the court’s decision.

“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision.

“The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter. In coordination with partners, including Israel, we are discussing next steps.”

Their stance has drawn criticism online about the double standards on the show: the Biden administration welcomed the ICC’s war crimes warrants against Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials for the war in Ukraine.