Benjamin Netanyahu has become the first leader of a “western-style” democracy to have an arrest warrant issued in his name by the international criminal court. The court has also issued warrants for his former defence secretary, Yoav Gallant, and the Hamas military leader, Mohammed Deif.
Here the Guardian explains why the warrants have been issued and what they mean in practice.
On what grounds have the warrants been issued?
The warrants relate to the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the Israeli military response in Gaza.
The ICC’s three-judge panel said it had found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility for … the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”. In addition the panel said there were reasonable grounds to believe they bear criminal responsibility “as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”.
The panel said of Deif that it had found reasonable grounds to believe that he was responsible “for the crimes against humanity of murder, extermination, torture and rape and other form of sexual violence, as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture, taking hostages, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape and other forms of sexual violence”.
The ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan had also sought warrants for two other senior Hamas figures – Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh – but they have since been killed. Israel also claims to have killed Deif, but the court’s pre-trial chamber said it would “continue to gather information” to confirm his death.
What are the practical implications for Netanyahu and Gallant?
The ICC relies on 124 member states of the Rome statute, which established the court, to execute arrest warrants. Member states are obliged to arrest individuals wanted by the ICC who set foot on their territory and, while they do not always do so, it means that the accused will have to consider whether they are willing to risk travelling.
Last year, Vladimir Putin decided not to go to South Africa amid speculation that he would be detained under an arrest warrant issued by the ICC for overseeing the abduction of Ukrainian children in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Neither Israel nor its closest ally, the US, are members, nor are the possible venues for ceasefire talks, Qatar and Egypt, although that may be a moot point as neither Netanyahu nor Gallant have attended the talks. Jordan and Tunisia are the only Arab member states other than Palestine. Another staunch Israel ally, Germany, is a member of the ICC, as are all European Union countries. Switzerland is a member, as is Japan. All Latin American countries, bar Cuba and Haiti, are ICC members, as are 33 African countries.
How does the ICC have jurisdiction over Israel when it isn’t a member?
The ICC has jurisdiction for both alleged crimes committed by a national of a member country and alleged crimes committed in the territory of a member state. Palestine acceded to the Rome statute in 2015, and the ICC ruled in 2021 that it was a state, thereby extending the court’s jurisdiction to territories occupied by Israel since 1967 – Gaza and the West Bank including East Jerusalem.
Who is the prosecutor who sought the warrants?
Khan is a British barrister appointed as the ICC prosecutor in 2021 after a secret ballot process. He previously represented the Kenyan vice-president, William Ruto, at the ICC when he was charged with crimes against humanity after post-election violence in 2007, and Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president who was convicted of war crimes at a special court for Sierra Leone.
The warrants have been issued at a sensitive moment for Khan, who is facing an external investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. The inquiry will examine the allegations against the prosecutor, which, the Guardian reported last month, include claims of unwanted sexual touching and “abuse” over an extended period, as well as coercive behaviour and abuse of authority. Khan has denied the allegations and said he will cooperate with the investigation. The alleged victim, an ICC lawyer in her 30s, has previously declined to comment.
