The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor, emboldened by the support of hundreds of Islamist attorneys from across the world, has dramatically escalated its pursuit of justice by seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside several other top Israeli officials, as well as the top three Hamas leaders, on severe charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This extraordinary move follows the catastrophic events of October 7th, which saw brutal attacks on Israel and subsequent intense conflict in Gaza.
In a landmark interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, who broke the exclusive story, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan revealed the scope of these unprecedented actions. Khan disclosed that warrants are also being sought for Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, the elusive leader of Hamas’ military wing, and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas. This marks a historic moment as it is the first instance the ICC has targeted the sitting leader of a nation closely allied with the United States, drawing a parallel to the warrant issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine conflict.
#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC announces applications for arrest warrants in relation to Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant in the context of the situation in the State of #Palestine ⤵️https://t.co/WqDZecXFZq pic.twitter.com/bxqLWc5M6u
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) May 20, 2024
The charges against Sinwar, Deif, and Haniyeh are severe, encompassing crimes such as “extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape, and sexual assault in detention.” Khan emphasized the gravity of the situation by recounting the horrific events of October 7, where innocent people were violently abducted from their homes and communities within Israel, leading to widespread suffering and terror. The addition of Hamas leaders appears to be a capitulation to those who were critical of Khan's obsession with taking Israel down. In his prior comments, Khan ignored Hamas and focused solely on Israel which brought significant criticism from U.S. officials. To bolster the fact that their inclusion was an afterthought, in their post on X announcing the applications, the ICC did not even mention Sinwar, Haniyeh or Deif, but focused solely on the Israeli targets of their investigation. In December, Khan did visit Israel's border communities affected by the brutal attack that saw Palestinian militants and civilians rape, pillage and plunder until the communities were destroyed. That visit initially did not seem to have an impact on his crusade to villify Israeli leaders for what he inferred was an unjust war.
In stark contrast, Netanyahu and Gallant face charges including “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, and deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.” Netanyahu, who has vehemently opposed the ICC’s jurisdiction and actions, previously labeled the potential warrants as “an outrage of historic proportions,” defending Israel’s independent legal system that he claims diligently investigates any violations. The application was spurred by a letter signed by hundreds of attorneys, most of whom were Muslim. Khan, along with several other Islamist attorneys have been targeting Israel ever since Hamas crossed the border on October 7th. It is important to note that the ICC has never issues an arrest warrant, nor has an application been filed to obtain one, for Iranian leaders who have presided over a brutal subjugation of their citizens, including forced rape of women who dared to walk in public without covering their hair. Nor has the court been tasked with bringing other brutal leaders to justice, such as North Korea's Kim Jong Un, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro or Syria's Bashar Al Assad who presided over a culling of Syrians estimated to be over 500,000.
🚨🇮🇱🇵🇸BREAKING: ICC CHIEF WANTS ARREST WARRANTS FOR SINWAR AND NETANYAHU
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 20, 2024
The International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for both leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan.
The ICC is also… pic.twitter.com/z0yS5LCcpf
Despite these assertions, Khan firmly stated, “Nobody is above the law,” inviting Israel to challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction through legal channels, highlighting the court's commitment to justice and accountability. The Islamist prosecutor knows that this challenge, if Israel does take it up, will be a de facto approval by the Jewish State of the legitimacy of the court, something Israel does not acknowledge. Israel is a signatory to the Rome statute but its legislature did not ratify it, and therefore, like many countries that include the United States, Russia, China, India and Qatar. As non-signatories, Qatar is not obligated to extradite Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, nor is Turkey which never signed the Rome Statute, the governing agreement that the ICC was formed under.
Although Israel and the United States are not ICC members, the court asserts its jurisdiction over Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank, following Palestinian leaders' acceptance of the court’s founding principles in 2015. This bold stance by the ICC underscores a pivotal moment in international law, signaling an unwavering pursuit of justice against the highest echelons of leadership on both sides of this deeply entrenched conflict.
