ICC Declares Israeli and Hamas Leaders Liable for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity

On May 19, International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan finally announced the results of his multi-year criminal investigation into alleged war crimes committed by the fascist state of Israel and the Hamas organization which is the de facto political and military leadership organization in Gaza.

The International Criminal Court is a body independent of any specific nation or even the United Nations, and derives its authority from the 118 nations which signed and ratified the Rome Statute which authorized its creation. It began operations as an investigatory and prosecuting court on July 1, 2002, when the first 60 nations had ratified the Statute.

Israel is not a member or signatory to the Rome Statute, and neither is Hamas. The United States, an important interested party in the current ICC proceedings, is not part of the ICC membership either, having only signed the Statute agreement under President Bill Clinton and then withdrawn its signature before ever submitting it to the Senate for ratification.

According to his public statement released yesterday and in a public address released yesterday from ICC headquarters at The Hague, Netherlands, the ICC Chief Prosecutor declared yesterday that he has applied for warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. He also asked for arrest warrants for three Hamas senior officials:  Yahya Sinwar, Head of the Islamic Resistance Movement, otherwise known as Hamas; Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, also known as DEIF, and who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the more formal name of the of the Hamas military; and Ismail Haniyeh, Head of Hamas’ political operations.

According to Khan, “on the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that” Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023”:

• “Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Statute;
• Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health contrary to article 8(2)(a)(iii), or cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
• Wilful killing contrary to article 8(2)(a)(i), or Murder as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
• Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime contrary to articles 8(2)(b)(i), or 8(2)(e)(i);
• Extermination and/or murder contrary to articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(a), including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity;
• Persecution as a crime against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(h); [and]
• Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(k).”

In all cases noted above, the articles named refer to specific parts of the Rome Statute.

Regarding the charges against the Hamas leadership, Khan said that based on the evidence collected and his own judgement, he has “reasonable grounds to believe that” Hamas’ Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh “bear criminal responsibility for…war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 7 October 2023”, as outlined below:

• Extermination as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(b) of the Rome Statute;
• Murder as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(a), and as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
• Taking hostages as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(iii);
• Rape and other acts of sexual violence as crimes against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(g), and also as war crimes pursuant to article 8(2)(e)(vi) in the context of captivity;
• Torture as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(f), and also as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the context of captivity;
• Other inhumane acts as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(l)(k), in the context of captivity;
• Cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the context of captivity; and
• Outrages upon personal dignity as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(ii), in the context of captivity."

ICC Chief Prosecutor Khan said he has ordered arrest warrants for each of the five leaders named in the list of criminal charges. Those requests were submitted to the Pretrial Chamber of judges at the ICC. That three-judge panel must examine the charges and case evidence prepared by the prosecutor, reach a decision as to what charges if any are acceptable for prosecution, and then issue arrest warrants based on those decisions.

On average, the time from when the request for arrest warrants is made and when they are issued takes about two months.

The ICC has no authority to enter either Gaza or Israel to seize the individuals charged, since neither region is an ICC member. But once arrest warrants are issued for the five, those nations who signed and ratified the ICC Rome Statute will be obligated to honor the warrants by detaining any of the five individuals should they appear in their countries. The most serious impact will be on Israel’s Netanyahu, who will be further isolated as a leader since many of the countries he might wish to travel to are covered by the agreement.

Netanyahu and Gallant will continue to be able to travel to the U.S. because it has no obligations under the Statute.

The Israeli prime minister went on nationwide television yesterday just hours after the ICC findings were released to fire back at the court and its chief prosecutor.

Calling Khan’s conclusions “absurd and false”, he called the prosecutor’s charges “directed not only against the prime minister of Israel and the defense minister but against the entire State of Israel.”

Netanyahu rejected the ICC’s allegations “with disgust”, calling them yet another example of “the new antisemitism”.

“With what chutzpah do you dare compare the monsters of Hamas to the soldiers of the IDF, the most moral army in the world?” the prime minister asked on camera. “With what audacity do you compare between the Hamas that murdered, burned, butchered, raped and kidnapped our brothers and sisters, and the IDF soldiers who are fighting a just war that is unparalleled, with a morality that is unmatched?”

Puppet Joe Biden of the United States also responded vigorously against the ICC’s charges against Netanyahu and Gallant.

“The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous,” Biden said in a formal written statement. “And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

Later in the day, Biden took the podium at the White House’s annual Jewish American Heritage Month celebration to further his attack against the ICC while once again demonstrating his unequivocal support for Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people

“I will always ensure that Israel has everything it needs to defend itself against Hamas and all its enemies,” Biden told the group. “We want Hamas to be defeated.”

“Let me be clear,” he said, “we reject the ICC’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders. Whatever these warrants may imply, there’s no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”

“What’s happening [in Gaza] is not genocide,” Biden went on.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued his own counter to the ICC charges, saying he “fundamentally rejects” the ICC’s intent to secure arrest warrants.

As expected, Hamas also rejected the ICC conclusions as they related to its own leadership.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior official with Hamas, said in a press interview after the ICC statement that the Court’s accusation against Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh “equates the victim with the executioner”.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, the nation which filed charges accusing the state of Israel with genocide in the war in Gaza with the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) months ago, also issued his own strong backing for the findings of the office of the ICC Chief Prosecutor yesterday.

“The law must be applied equally to all in order to uphold the international rule of law, ensure accountability for those that commit heinous crimes and protect the rights of victims,” Ramaphosa’s office said.