TEL AVIV—The issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on behalf of the International Criminal Court in The Hague is an unprecedented move in Israel’s history.
If either of these two enter their territory, the 124 member states of the court are now obligated to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes against humanity and hand them over to The Hague.
This dramatically narrows the number of countries the prime minister can visit without worry of detention. The U.S., which like Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize its authority, has dismissed the warrants and signaled it has no intention of ever abiding by them. Washington, therefore, remains a safe place to visit should Netanyahu need to come for further weapons requests for his war against the Palestinian people.
The court ruled that Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for the following crimes: starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution, and the intentional targeting of the civilian population.
According to the court’s decision, there is a reasonable basis to assume that the two deliberately and knowingly deprived the civilian population of the Gaza Strip of the necessities for survival, including food, water, medicine, medical equipment, fuel, and electricity.
The court justified this assumption by saying that Netanyahu and Gallant had a role in preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza in violation of international law. Their conduct, the court’s decision states, led to the disruption of the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide essential aid to the citizens of Gaza.
The court also ruled that it did not recognize a clear military need or justification for the restrictions imposed by Israel on humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip. Therefore, the court said, there is a reasonable basis to assume that the lack of equipment created conditions designed to destroy part of the civilian population in Gaza.
The court’s decision may even lead to decisions regarding the imposition of sanctions on Israel, including an arms embargo and economic sanctions.
Joseph Borrell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the European Union, said that the international arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and Gallant are not political and that the decision of the court in The Hague must be respected. Senior officials in many governments have expressed themselves in a similar way since the orders were issued.
Among the major Western powers, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, and the U.K. indicated they would abide by the court’s warrants and sent a signal to Israel that its leaders should not schedule visits to their territories.
The Biden administration in the U.S. called the warrants “outrageous” and was followed by some other top Israeli allies. France, which is a member of the ICC, pointed to the technicality that Israel is not and used that as a means to say it would not follow its obligations. Italy simply said the warrants would be “difficult” to execute.
As for how the warrants are playing out inside Israel itself, all the Zionist parties – from Otzma Yehudit to the Democrats – condemned the orders against Netanyahu and Gallant. Yair Golan, the leader of the “Zionist Left” also came to Netanyahu’s defense and wrote, “The decision to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant is not only shameful, but also a real danger to every soldier and officer in the IDF.”
Golan called the ICC’s decision a case of “anti-Semitism” and said it was “equivalent to the modern Dreyfus trial – and it will also end like it.” He wrote, “Israel rejects the absurd and false actions and charges against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a biased and discriminatory political body.”
The Hadash coalition, the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, on the other hand, said:
“The court in The Hague decided based on clear evidence: The Gaza War is a war fraught with serious war crimes and crimes against humanity. Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for the total destruction of Gaza and the mass murder of its residents. They have to pay a price for it. The eternal war not only destroys Gaza and Lebanon, denies the Palestinian people the right to self-determination, and destroys society in Israel, but will also turn Israel into a rejected and criminal state.”
Hadash, whose Knesset representatives are the only consistent voices for ceasefire and peace, said it will continue to “strive for an end to the occupation and a political settlement” between Israel and Palestine.
The coalition encouraged all its members and friends to participate in the Nov. 29 International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. On this date every year, mass demonstrations are held in many countries in support of the Palestinians’ right to live in their independent state in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.
This year, the date was also celebrated in Israel, at the initiative of the Jewish-Arab Coalition Peace Partnership. Protest rallies against the war and for Israeli-Palestinian peace were held in dozens of locations throughout the country.
The Peace Partnership issued a statement on the eve of the protests, declaring:
“After more than a year of bloody war, starvation, and mass killing…we will all go out – Jews and Arabs across the country – to be a clear voice against the war, and to fight for peace and justice for both peoples.”
This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in Zo Haderekh. It has been supplemented with further information about the international reactions to the ICC arrest warrants.
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