AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan said on Monday he had filed a request for the issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
Karim Khan also requested the issuance of arrest warrants against three Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinouar, head of the Palestinian Islamist group in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, head of the Al Qassam Brigades, and Ismaïl Haniyeh, head of the Hamas Political Bureau, for alleged crimes committed since October 7 in Israel and Gaza.
The independent judges of the ICC will have to determine whether the conditions are met to issue arrest warrants, specifies Karim Khan.
The ICC, which has 123 member countries, does not have its own police force and relies on the cooperation of states to carry out arrests and hand over suspects. Israel and its main ally, the United States, are not members of the ICC, nor are China and Russia.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders have previously rejected accusations of war crimes.
“Today more than ever, we must collectively demonstrate that international humanitarian law, which dictates the standards to be respected in times of war, applies impartially to all parties to an armed conflict in all situations. before my Office and the Court,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
“This is how we can concretely demonstrate that all human lives are equal.”
ALLEGED WAR AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Among the alleged crimes against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, Karim Khan lists “deliberately starving civilians as a method of war”, “intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population” and even “intentional homicide” in the Gaza Strip from at least October 8, 2023.
The leaders of Hamas are accused of acts including “hostage-taking as a war crime”, “extermination as a crime against humanity”, torture, rape and sexual violence.
Several Israeli and Palestinian officials denounced the approach of the ICC prosecutor.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced a “distortion of reality”.
“I reject with disgust the Hague prosecutor’s comparisons between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas,” he said. “How boldly do you compare Hamas who killed, burned, massacred, beheaded, raped and kidnapped our brothers and sisters with Israeli soldiers who are waging a war like no other.”
“As Prime Minister of Israel, I promise that no decision from any international forum will prevent us from striking those who try to destroy us,” he added.
“Drawing a parallel between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself against despicable terror and the leaders of a bloodthirsty terrorist organization (Hamas) is a profound distortion of justice and a blatant moral bankruptcy,” he said. said War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz.
Same story with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
“Any attempt to draw parallels between these horrific terrorists and the democratically elected government of Israel – which works to defend and protect its population in full accordance with the principles of international law – is outrageous and cannot be accepted by anyone. “
Sami Abou Zouhri, a senior Hamas official, said the ICC’s decision put “the victim and the executioner on an equal footing.”
“Hamas (…) demands the cancellation of these arrest warrants required against the leaders of the Palestinian resistance,” the Islamist group also declared in a statement.
American President Joe Biden also denounced the comparisons between Israel and Hamas.
“Let me be clear: No matter what this prosecutor implies, there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel in the face of threats to its security,” he said. -he declared in a press release.
His Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, also denounced a decision which could “endanger” discussions around a ceasefire agreement between the two parties.
More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October, according to the enclave’s health ministry, and aid organizations have also warned of widespread famine and severe shortages of fuel and medical supplies.
Some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage during the massacres carried out by Hamas on October 7, according to Israeli counts.
(Reporting Anthony Deutsch, Charlotte Van Campenhout and Stephanie van den Berg, French version Kate Entringer and Zhifan Liu)
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