According to Reuters, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in a statement issued after 7 months of fighting in Gaza said he had reasonable grounds to believe that these five individuals were “criminally responsible” for allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He said he had filed a request for arrest warrants for Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who oversaw Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian militant group launched a rocket attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Khan also filed arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar; Mohammed Al-Masri, commander-in-chief of Hamas' armed wing, commonly known as Deif; and Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas' Politburo.
A pre-trial panel of judges will decide whether there is enough evidence to warrant an arrest. However, the court has no power to execute a warrant, and its investigations into the Gaza war have drawn opposition from the United States and Israel.
Israel and Palestinian leaders have denied the war crimes allegations, and representatives from both sides have criticized Khan's decision.
US President Joe Biden has called the legal action “absolutely deplorable”, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the decision could damage efforts to negotiate a ceasefire and prisoner exchange.
“The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel or the United States, and today’s baseless and unlawful decision must be condemned by the entire world,” said US House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The allegations
“Israel, like any other state, has the right to act in self-defense of its citizens. However, this right does not exempt Israel or any other state from its responsibility to act in accordance with international humanitarian law,” Khan said.
He asserted that there were allegations that Israel had committed crimes against humanity “in its systematic, widespread attacks against Palestinian citizens in accordance with its state policy.”
“In our assessment, these crimes are still occurring today.”
Photo: REUTERS/ Ronen Zvulun.
Khan said evidence his office had gathered showed Israel had systematically deprived civilians of “essentials vital to human survival” – including food, clean water, medicine and energy.
Hamas leaders face charges that these individuals are responsible for acts committed by Hamas.
The ICC is the world's first permanent international war crimes court. Its 124 member states are responsible for arresting wanted individuals if they are in the territory of that member state.
Turning Point Event
As a court of last resort, the ICC only intervenes when a state is unwilling or unable to comply with its orders. Israel has said that allegations of war crimes in Gaza are being investigated internally.
Israel and its ally the United States are not members of the ICC, nor are China and Russia.
The court's member states have in the past failed to arrest individuals who have traveled to their territories, including former President Omar Bashir, who has been wanted since 2005 on charges of genocide and war crimes.
But in the event of an arrest warrant being issued for Israeli leaders, the court's member states, which include nearly all of the European Union, could find themselves in an awkward diplomatic position.
“This is a landmark event in the history of international justice,” said Reed Brody, a veteran war crimes prosecutor. “In its more than 21 years of existence, the ICC has never prosecuted an official of a Western country. In fact, no international court has made such a decision since the Nuremberg trials [of representatives of the Nazi regime].”
Israeli ministers and Palestinian representatives condemned the ICC prosecutor's decision.
“To compare the leaders of a democratic country defending itself from despicable acts of terrorism to the leaders of a bloodthirsty terrorist organization is a gross perversion of justice and a flagrant display of immorality,” Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek the arrest of three Hamas leaders “equates victims with executioners.” Hamas has demanded that the arrest warrants against its leaders be dropped.
At least 35,000 Palestinians have died in the Gaza war, and aid agencies have warned of widespread famine and a shortage of fuel and medical supplies.
Some 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage in a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)
Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/ctv-toa-an-hinh-su-quoc-te-de-don-yeu-cau-ra-lenh-bat-giu-netanyahu-a664646.html
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