(NewsReady.com) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Sunday, May 19. The meeting came amid an intense military campaign in Gaza. The next day, the International Criminal Court (ICC) handed down shocking arrest warrants.
On Monday, Karim A.A. Khan, an ICC prosecutor, revealed arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three members of Hamas. He issued a press release stating that he filed the warrants before the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC.
The three Hamas leaders are the head of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, the commander of Hamas’ military (the Al-Qassam Brigades) Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas Political Bureau. They are accused of the following war crimes related to the October 7 terrorist attack:
- Sexual violence
- Hostage-taking
- Murder
- Extermination of the Israeli people
- Torture
- Cruelty
- Outrages upon a personal dignity
- Other inhuman acts
Khan accused the three Hamas leaders of carrying out crimes against humanity and said they were “criminally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians” during the horrific terrorist attack that left almost 1,200 dead. The ICC interviewed witnesses from six attack sites, including the Supernova Music Festival. Additionally, the hostages that Hamas took were raped and tortured.
The prosecutor went on to explain the charges against Gallant and Netanyahu. They are accused of several war crimes as well.
- Willfully causing great suffering and serious injury to the health or bodies of Palestinians
- Starving civilians as a method of warfare
- Willfully killing
- Intentionally attacking Palestinian civilians
- Extermination and/or murder of the Palestinian people
- Persecution
- Other inhuman acts
Khan said the Israeli government is still carrying out attacks against the civilian population in Gaza. He also claimed that the ICC has eyewitness testimony, video, and other reports that prove the Israeli government has “intentionally and systematically deprived” the Palestinians of what they need to survive.
Israel President Isaac Herzog condemned the ICC for the arrest warrants, saying it was a “one-sided move” that would embolden terrorists and violate the “basic rules of the court.”
A panel of three judges will ultimately decide whether to make the warrants official and that could take a couple of months. Even then, Israel isn’t a member of the ICC, so Netanyahu and Gallant aren’t actually facing the possibility of arrest, but it could make it harder for them to travel abroad.
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