Karim Khan said yesterday his office had applied to the World Court's pre-trial chamber for arrest warrants for the military and political leaders on both sides for crimes committed during Hamas's 7 October attack and the ensuing war in Gaza.
He named Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief in Gaza, and Mohammed Deif, the commander of its military wing, considered to be the masterminds of the 7 October assault, as well as Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the group's political bureau, who is based in Qatar, as wanted for crimes of extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape, sexual assault and torture.
In an extraordinary rebuke of Israel's treatment of Palestinians and its conduct in the war in Gaza, Netanyahu and Gallant are accused of extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, the denial of humanitarian relief supplies and deliberately targeting civilians. Yesterday's statement notably did not include any Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials, such as its chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, focusing instead on political decision-makers.
Khan, the British ICC prosecutor, must request the warrants for the Hamas and Israeli suspects from a pre-trial panel of three judges, who take on average two 12 months to consider the evidence and determine whether proceedings can move forward.
The ICC has previously issued warrants for Russia's Vladimir Putin, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, and the former president of Sudan Omar al-Bashir, but no leader of a "Western-style" democracy has ever been issued a warrant.
While there is no imminent likelihood of prosecution, since Israel is not a member of the court, ICC warrants could put Israeli officials at risk of arrest abroad, further deepening the country's growing international isolation over its conduct in the war in Gaza.
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