Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant could also be targeted by the tribunal for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The ICC (International Criminal Court) will decide in the coming days whether or not to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud, right) and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. The information is from Guardian.
If the court decides to issue the warrant, Netanyahu and Gallant could have their travel destinations limited to countries that are not signatories to the Rome Statute, as countries that have ratified the agreement must comply with the ICC’s orders.
Therefore, if Netanyahu has a warrant issued against him, he will still be able to travel to Israel’s main ally, the United States, without running the risk of being arrested, making the arrest warrant ineffective.
Hamas political leader Yahya Sinwar and al-Qassam Brigade leader Mohammed Al-Masri could also have their arrest warrants decided in the coming days. However, Israel claims to have killed Mohammed Al-Masri in 2020, which has not been confirmed by Hamas.
The case against the four leaders began in May, when International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he had requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu and the leaders of the extremist group Hamas.
In a statement, Khan said he had “reasonable grounds to believe”based on evidence collected and examined by his office, that the authorities bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Regarding Hamas authorities, Khan claims that they “are criminally responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians” since the October 7, 2023 attack. The leaders are also accused of holding Israeli hostages in “inhumane conditions” and practice torture and sexual violence.
Regarding Israeli authorities, the prosecutor said Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for “deliberately starve civilians to death”, “intentional homicide”, “extermination and/or murder” and “persecution” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since October 8, 2023, the date on which the country began retaliating against attacks carried out by Hamas the previous day.
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