The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued arrest warrants for alleged war crimes against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Diab Ibrahim al-Masri.
The court announced the warrants on Thursday. The ICC statement charges "Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant (with) crimes against humanity and war crimes committed between at least 8 October 2023 and at least 20 May 2024."
Hamas leader Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, better known as Mohammed Deif, must also be extradited to the ICC to stand trial for murder, extermination and torture. But Israel says al-Masri was killed in July in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip. But as the court cannot determine if he was actually killed, the order was issued.
In response, the United States categorically rejected the decision, a spokesperson of the White House National Security Council stated on Thursday. Washington expressed concern over the prosecutor's haste in seeking the warrants and said that the ICC lacks legal jurisdiction in this matter.
Former President Donald Trump has not yet responded to the warrants but future National Security Adviser Mike Waltz promised a "strong response" to the ICC's "anti-Semitic bias" once the President-elect takes office in January. In Congress, Republicans unanimously called for sanctions against the international organisation.
Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the ICC – a permanent court tasked with prosecuting individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Founded in 2002, the ICC has 124 member states but has issued only a handful of convictions since its inception.
