Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan says he has requested arrest warrants from the judges of the court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas members.
The move has been described by The Times of Israel as “an unprecedented and hugely controversial development”.
According to the newspaper, Khan says that the charges being sought against Netanyahu and Gallant are for the crimes of “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict”.
Khan says he is also applying for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, in connection with charges of extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape and sexual assault in detention.
According to the BBC, Netanyahu recently called the prospect of senior Israeli figures joining the ICC’s wanted list “an outrage of historic proportions”.
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz − a political rival of Netanyahu − denounced the prosecutor’s decision.
He posted on X: “Drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a blood-thirsty terror organisation is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy.”
According to the BBC, ICC judges will now determine whether they believe the evidence is sufficient to issue arrest warrants.
The timeframe can vary, with weeks and even months sometimes elapsing between the point at which the ICC prosecutor requests an arrest warrant, and the judges’ ruling on it.
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