Benjamin Netanyahu calls ICC 'the enemy of humanity' after it issues warrant for his arrest

LAST UPDATE | 18 hrs ago

THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant.

The ICC has rejected challenges from Israel and issued the warrants today. 

They are issued alongside a warrant for the arrest of Mohammed Deif, the highest commander of Hamas’s military wing. Israel had claimed to have killed him, but senior Hamas officials say he is alive.

In a statement released by the ICC, it said that the orders were “for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest”.

“The arrest warrants are classified as ‘secret’, in order to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations.

“However, the Chamber decided to release the information below since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing. Moreover, the Chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants’ existence,” the statement read. 

In May, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan requested the court issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Netanyahu sacked Gallant as defence minister on 5 November.

Khan also sought warrants against Mohammed Deif and fellow Hamas leader Ismail Haniyehon on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The prosecutor dropped the application for Haniyeh on 2 August “because of the changed circumstances caused by Mr Haniyeh’s death” in Tehran on 31 July, when he was assassinated.

The ICC said that, as international humanitarian law could be applied to a conflict involving an occupying power and a civilian population, “with regards to war crimes, the Chamber found it appropriate to issue the arrest warrants pursuant to the law of international armed conflict”.

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

Reaction

Responding to the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said it’s a “dark day for humanity” as universal justice has been turned 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,” he wrote on X.

“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.”

Netanyahu himself said: “No outrageous anti-Israel decision will prevent us – and it will not prevent me – from continuing to defend our country in every way.”

“We will not yield to pressure,” he vowed.

He described today’s decision as a “dark day in the history of nations”.

“The International Criminal Court in The Hague, which was established to protect humanity, has today become the enemy of humanity,” he said, adding that the accusations were “utterly baseless”.

A spokesperson for the United States  National Security Council said: 

“The United States fundamentally rejects the Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials. We remain deeply concerned by the Prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” adding the U.S. is discussing next steps with its partners.

The Netherlands, France, Canada, and Switzerland, among others, have all said they will comply with the court and honour the arrest warrants.

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Israel’s allies, including Austria, Hungary and Argentina, among others, have come out against the decision to issue warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has previously said his country would act on warrants issued by the court but so far Germany has not yet made a statement on today’s announcement. 

A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, when asked if Netanyahu would be arrested if he entered the country, said: “We are not going to get into hypotheticals.”

Tánaiste Micheál Martin released a neutral statement on the ICC decision while Taoiseach Simon Harris went further, saying that anyone in a position to aid the court must do so. 

“Ireland is a strong supporter of the ICC and calls on all States to respect its independence and impartiality, with no attempts made to undermine the court,” he said.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood was among the first politicians to strongly welcome the move, saying it’s “far beyond time they answered for the genocide they’ve inflicted”.

In a statement he said: “This genocide has extracted an unimaginable price in human life and suffering. It has all but levelled every piece of civilian infrastructure in Gaza so that all that’s left is a decaying concrete wasteland.

“Netanyahu and Gallant must be held accountable for what they’ve done.”

Jeremy Corbyn said the issuing of arrest warrants is “long overdue”. He called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to immediately endorse the decision.

Labour MP Zara Sultana said the UK government should now ”comply with the ICC, end all arms sales, impose economic sanctions & suspend its trade deal with Israel”.

Pressure is mounting on Downing Street, including Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who has previously said he was “very comfortable with the support that we give to Israel”.

Members of the of the Conservative Party have come out against the ICC’s decision.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the warrants were “concerning and provocative”.

She criticised the ICC for drawing a “moral equivalence” between Israel’s actions in Gaza and the Hamas terrorist atrocity on 7 October, 2023, which triggered the military response.

She said: “The Labour Government must condemn and challenge the ICC’s decision.”

Eylon Levi, a former spokesman for Israel and the current media adviser to its president, has claimed that the arrest warrants are based on “falsehoods”.

The International Criminal Court is responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of the most heinous crimes. 

It is a separate body to the International Court of Justice, which deals with disputes between states. 

Israel has been accused of genocide in a case brought to the ICJ by South Africa and the court has issued provisional measures (injunctions) against Israel after finding there are reasonable grounds to believe Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, where more than 43,000 people have been killed since October last year. 

Ireland has committed to formally intervening in that case on South Africa’s behalf. 

With reporting from Press Association, AFP and David Mac Redmond

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