The International Criminal Court (ICC) has formally issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Arrest warrants do not guarantee that the men will be tried in The Hague, the Dutch city where the ICC is located. They don’t even guarantee that none of them will be arrested.
But they make life especially difficult for Gallant and Netanyahu. (It is unclear whether Deif is currently alive.) Both Israelis will find it more difficult to travel abroad, as signatories to the treaty that created the ICC are obligated to arrest and extradite those accused of crimes. That means “124 countries now” – allthe signatory – “Where it would be unwise for them to travel,” Rutgers University law professor Adil Haque told Vox.
And the warrants are likely to be a tricky factor for some of Israel’s allies. Some domestic laws prohibit the transfer of weapons that could be used to commit atrocity crimes. Others may have warrants straining diplomatic relations.
Warrant Impeach Gallant and Netanyahu Continuous blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza, depriving Gazan civilians of “food, water, medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity” in violation of international laws of armed conflict. They also accused both men of purposefully ordering attacks against Gazan civilians in at least two cases. Deif is also accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, torture and sexual violence.
Israel condemned the issuance of the warrant; “There is nothing but the war Israel is waging in Gaza,” Netanyahu’s office said Thursday. At least 44,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas attacks on October 7 last year. About 1,200 people.
Are Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Galant really going to be arrested by the ICC?
Netanyahu and Gallant are in no immediate danger of arrest. Israel is not a signatory to the ICC, meaning it does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction over its territory. The United States – Israel’s closest and most powerful ally – is not a signatory, and has been in the past Even the ICC has sanctioned the officials trying to investigate war crimes committed by CIA and US troops in Afghanistan.
That means Israeli law enforcement is under no obligation to arrest Netanyahu or Gallant, and the U.S. is unlikely to pressure a man to turn himself in.
Israel has tried to argue that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Israelis, but the State of Palestine has been a signatory since 2015 — so crimes committed by anyone in the occupied Palestinian territories, such as Gaza. Indeed, the scope of the ICC.
Israel has tried to claim that the court should not be involved in the case because Israel has a strong and competent court system; While this may be true, the court system is not investigating anyone for the crimes the ICC prosecutor claims.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan recommended the arrest warrant in May; At the time, he also recommended warrants against former Hamas leaders killed by Israeli forces. Courts do not judge people in absentia, so the dead will be sued.
The court does not have its own police force and relies on law enforcement from signatory countries to make arrests. Nations typically do not make arrests by the ICC outside their borders, meaning the most likely route for Netanyahu and Gallant to end up in ICC custody would be a country they are visiting that would be feared by those with a record of international abductions. Take contractual obligations very seriously.
Warrants can have other consequences beyond arrest
Although Netanyahu and Gallant are reasonably safe from arrest, the warrants could have diplomatic and military consequences for Israel, particularly in Europe.
“I think even Israel’s allies who are ICC member states will face domestic pressure to cut diplomatic ties with Netanyahu,” Haque said. For example, “Not only can he travel to Germany, I would also be surprised if [German leaders] To fly to Israel and be photographed shaking hands with him, or even to talk to him electronically, only within their own country, would get a lot of domestic pushback.”
Staunch allies that are not ICC member states – such as the United States – are less likely to change their relationship with Israel. “The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been denied by the US government,” Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Florida), President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Wrote in X. “You can expect a strong reaction to the anti-ICC and UN bias in January.”
Warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant could also complicate arms transfers from European states and Countries that restrict migration In situations where there are credible reasons to believe that a country will use them for atrocities.
“We have already seen a Dutch court that the Netherlands cannot send fighter jet [parts]For example, Israel. We have seen various terminations or expirations There was an arms deal with the UK,” said Thanks ZvobgoProfessor of Government at the College of William and Mary. The decisions came in the wake of proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where the court agreed to hear a case Accuses Israel of genocideAnd the commandment of Israel Stop any action Which can lead to genocide. (give The ICJ is the Court of the United Nationswhich focuses on inter-state disputes.).
Between the issuance of the warrant at the ICC and the verdict in The Hague, there are a number of steps, including arresting Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as gathering evidence that links the men to specific alleged crimes — something that is not easy in an active war zone, but as Zvobgo pointed out, Khan , the ICC’s chief prosecutor, “only brought charges that he thought would realistically lead to convictions.”
And even if the accused do not end up in The Hague, Zvobgo said, “even if Netanyahu never sets foot on Dutch soil, never faces trial at the ICC, he will forever be accused of atrocities.” And the charges won’t go away once the war is over, Zvobgo added: “There’s no statute of limitations on a trial.”
