Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A statement said a pre-trial chamber had rejected Israel’s challenges to the court’s jurisdiction and issued warrants for Netanyahu as well as former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas’s military commander, Mohammed Deif.
The judges said there were “reasonable grounds” the three men bore “criminal responsibility” for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war between Israel and Hamas.
Both Israel and Hamas have rejected the allegations.
It will now be up to the ICC’s 124 member states – which do not include Israel or its ally, the United States – to decide whether or not to enforce the warrants.
According to the ICC, the chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant “each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: 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 reasonable grounds to believe that “each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”.
There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu, Gallant or Hamas.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said: “Taken in bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughing stock.”
“The decision has chosen the side of terror and evil over democracy and freedom, and turned the very system of justice into a human shield for Hamas’ crimes against humanity,” he added.
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