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 the international rule of law, European countries should make clear that they fully support the ICC as an independent judicial body.