Israel furious: Arrest warrant issued for PM Netanyahu

An international arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister as well as top Hamas leaders has been issued over “war crimes”.

A furious Israel has slammed an application by the International Criminal Court for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – calling it a “historical disgrace”.

The prosecutor, Karim Khan, applied for arrest warrants against Mr Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant as well as top Hamas leaders on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The prosecutor, based in The Hague, Netherlands, said he was seeking warrants against Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant for crimes including “wilful killing”, “extermination and/or murder” and “starvation”.

He said he had “reasonable grounds to believe” the men are party to for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

US organisation Human Rights Watch welcomed the move stating it was a “principled first step” which “opens the door to those responsible for the atrocities committed in recent months to get a fair trial”.

But Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that Mr Khan “in the same breath mentions the Prime Minister and the minister of defence of the State of Israel alongside the abominable Nazi monsters of Hamas – a historical disgrace that will be remembered forever”.

US President Joe Biden said the arrest warrants were “outrageous”.

“Let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas,” he commented.

“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Picture: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP

Hamas trio charged

Within Hamas, the International Criminal Court (ICC) charged Yahya Sinwar, leader of the group in Gaza; Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s political leaders; and Hamas military strategist Mohammed Deif.

The three are charged with “taking hostages, cruel treatment, and outrages against personal dignity”.

The crimes against humanity charges are extermination, murder, rape and other acts of sexual violence, torture, other inhumane acts.

A portrait of the head of the political wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar. Picture: JACK GUEZ / AFP

The prosecutor alleges the three are “criminally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians in attacks perpetrated by Hamas … and other armed groups on 7 October 2023 and the taking of at least 245 hostages”.

According to the prosecutor, the trio “planned and instigated” the October 7 attacks, which “could not have been committed without their actions.”

Mr Khan reiterated a call for the “immediate release of all hostages taken from Israel”, saying this was a “fundamental requirement of international humanitarian law.”

Hamas said in a statement that the warrants against Mr Natanyahu and Mr Gallant came “seven months late”.

The group said it also demanded “the cancellation of all arrest warrants issued against leaders of the Palestinian resistance for violating UN conventions and resolutions”.

An Israeli soldier directs a tank near the border with the southern part of the Gaza Strip on May 2, 2024 in Southern Israel, Israel. Picture: Amir Levy/Getty Images

Israel furious

Mr Katz denounced the move as a “scandalous decision” that amounted to “a frontal attack … on the victims of October 7” when Hamas launched their attack on Israel, sparking the Gaza war.

The minister added that Israel would establish a special committee to fight the ICC prosecutor’s efforts to secure a warrant, and also embark on a diplomatic push against it.

Mr Katz said he planned to “speak with foreign ministers in leading countries of the world so that they oppose the prosecutor’s decision and announce that, even if orders are issued, they do not intend to enforce them on the leaders of the State of Israel”.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog criticised Mr Khan’s bid as an example of how the “international judicial system is in danger of collapsing”.

“This one-sided move represents a unilateral political step that emboldens terrorists around the world,” he said in a statement.

“Any attempt to draw parallels between these atrocious terrorists and a democratically elected government of Israel … is outrageous and cannot be accepted by anyone.”

Israel’s war cabinet minister Benny Gantz meanwhile said the ICC prosecutor’s bid was a “historical crime”.

“Placing the leaders of a country that went into a battle to protect its citizens in the same line with bloodthirsty terrorists is moral blindness,” Mr Gantz said on X.

On Saturday, Mr Gantz had criticised Mr Netanyahu for his handling of the war in Gaza, threatening to resign from the war cabinet unless the premier approved a post-war plan for the Palestinian territory

Originally published as Israel furious: Arrest warrant issued for PM Netanyahu