ICC prosecutor seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Sinwar

Israel is not a member of the ICC and doesn’t recognize its jurisdiction, although the Palestinian territories were accepted as a member state in 2015.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

According to an exclusive CNN interview, the International Criminal Court is in the process of determining whether they will seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and October 7th mastermind Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on charges of war crimes.

In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Monday, the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said he is also seeking warrants for Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Mohammad Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.

Khan said the charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”

The charges against Sinwar, Haniyeh, and Deif include “extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention.”

“The world was shocked on the 7th of October when people were ripped from their bedrooms, from their homes, from the different kibbutzim in Israel,” Khan told Amanpour, adding that “people have suffered enormously.”

If the arrest warrants are issued, it would not only signify a moral equivalency between the terror group leadership and the Israeli government, but it would also mark the first time leaders of an ally of the United States have been singled out for arrest by the ICC.

The ICC’s judicial panel will consider Khan’s application for the arrest warrants.

When there were indications last month that the ICC may seek a warrant for the arrest of Israeli government officials, Netanyahu said such a development “would be an outrage of historic proportions” and that Israel “has an independent legal system that rigorously investigates all violations of the law.”

Regarding Netanyahu, Khan said, “No one is above the law,” but added that if Israel disagrees with the charges, “they are free, notwithstanding their objections to jurisdiction, to raise a challenge before the judges of the court, and that’s what I advise them to do.”

The ICC currently has 124 permanent members and can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and aggression.

Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize its jurisdiction, although the Palestinian territories were accepted as a member state in 2015.