The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. This is the first time that the court has issued a warrant for the head of government of a major Western ally and represents the most dramatic step yet in the court’s involvement in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The arrest warrants mean that all member states of the ICC (including all of the EU’s member states) are obliged to arrest the individuals concerned if they enter the states’ territory.
The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber found there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity through the blocking of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. It also found there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant were responsible as superiors for the war crime of deliberately directing attacks on a civilian population in at least two instances.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif. Israel claims to have killed Deif in July 2024, but his death has not been confirmed.
The arrest warrant against Netanyahu will bring intense political focus on the ICC. As historic backers of the court and of the international rule of law, European countries should make clear that they fully support the court as an independent judicial body.
Read the full text of the ICC arrest warrant
They must also confirm that they will execute the arrest warrants if any of the individuals concerned enter their territory. And they must avoid any statements that undermine the court or question its legitimacy– particularly after the strong European support for the March 2023 ICC arrest warrant against Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The warrants also raise the question of how European officials should engage with Netanyahu in Israel or outside their own territory. In previous cases (as with former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, who was elected after a warrant had been issued against him), European officials have adopted a policy of avoiding non-essential contact with those indicted or facing an arrest warrant for international crimes. They should follow the same policy in this case.
The ICC’s move is likely to generate intense criticism and measures against the court from incoming US president Donald Trump. In his first term, Trump issued sanctions against ICC officials after the court said it was investigating US actions in Afghanistan, and his administration also said it would “exact consequences” if the ICC investigated war crimes in Palestine. The EU should prepare for a US attack on the ICC and resist any US pressure to cut its own ties and support for the court.
