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‘NOBODY IS ABOVE THE LAW’: ICC PROSECUTOR SEEKS ARREST WARRANTS
FOR ISRAELI, HAMAS LEADERS  
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Jon Queally
May 20, 2024
Common Dreams
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_ ICC chief prosecutor accuses the Israeli prime minister and defence
minister of "starvation as a method of war" and "deliberately
targeting civilians." Hamas leaders are accused of "extermination as a
crime against humanity" and "taking hostages." _

Yahya Sinwar, head of the Islamic Resistance Movement ("Hamas") and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, photo: screen grab

 

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday
announced he has "formally applied
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for arrest warrants for the top political and military leaders of
Hamas as well as the Israeli government on "war crimes" and "crimes
against humanity" charges related to the October 7 attack by
Palestinian militants and the brutal assault on the people of Gaza
[[link removed]] that Israel
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In a world exclusive carried by _CNN_, the ICC's chief prosecutor
Karim Khan told
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Christiana Amanpour that arrest warrants are being sought for Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
for their role "in the crimes of causing extermination, causing
starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian
relief supplies, [and] deliberately targeting civilians in conflict."

"Nobody is above the law," said Khan.

Khan and his team also announced the charges formally in a statement
as well as a video address.

"Israel, like all States, has a right to take action to defend its
population," said Khan in his statement. "That right, however, does
not absolve Israel or any State of its obligation to comply with
international humanitarian law. Notwithstanding any military goals
they may have, the means Israel chose to achieve them in
Gaza—namely, intentionally causing death, starvation, great
suffering, and serious injury to body or health of the civilian
population—are criminal."

In Khan's application, the official "war crimes" and "crimes against
humanity" alleged—based on "evidence collected and examined" by his
office—include:

* Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime
contrary to article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Statute;
* Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or
health contrary to article 8(2)(a)(iii), or cruel treatment as a war
crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
* Wilful killing contrary to article 8(2)(a)(i), or Murder as a war
crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
* Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a
war crime contrary to articles 8(2)(b)(i), or 8(2)(e)(i);
* Extermination and/or murder contrary to articles 7(1)(b) and
7(1)(a), including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a
crime against humanity;
* Persecution as a crime against humanity contrary to article
7(1)(h);
* Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity contrary to article
7(1)(k).

"There's no spinning this one: Israel's President and Minister of
Defense are formally accused at the ICC of 'exterminating'
Palestinians in the course of a starvation campaign," said
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a lecturer on international relations at Kings College, London, in
response to the announcement.

Beatrice Fihn, former head of the Nobel Prize-winning International
Campaign to Abolition Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and an expert on
international law, called the development "absolutely massive."

"The Prime Minister of Israel is a war criminal," Fihn said on social
media, "and the impact of this will be very significant for all
western countries that sell weapons to Israel."

In addition to the Israeli officials, Khan also announced arrest
warrant applications for three Palestinian leaders: Yahya Sinwar, head
of the Islamic Resistance Movement ("Hamas") in the Gaza Strip),
Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (also known Deif), Commander-in-Chief
of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military arm), and Ismail Haniyeh,
the head of Hamas' Political Bureau based in Doha, Qatar.

Also based on "evidence collected," Khan's specific charges against
the Hamas officials include:

* Extermination as a crime against humanity, contrary to article
7(1)(b) of the Rome Statute;
* Murder as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(a),
and as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);
* Taking hostages as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(iii);
* Rape and other acts of sexual violence as crimes against humanity,
contrary to article 7(1)(g), and also as war crimes pursuant to
article 8(2)(e)(vi) in the context of captivity;
* Torture as a crime against humanity, contrary to article 7(1)(f),
and also as a war crime, contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in the
context of captivity;
* Other inhumane acts as a crime against humanity, contrary to
article 7(l)(k), in the context of captivity;
* Cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i), in
the context of captivity; and
* Outrages upon personal dignity as a war crime, contrary to article
8(2)(c)(ii), in the context of captivity.

Khan alleged in his statement that Sinwar, Deif, and Haniyeh are each
"criminally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israeli
civilians in attacks perpetrated by Hamas (in particular its military
wing, the al-Qassam Brigades) and other armed groups on 7 October 2023
and the taking of at least 245 hostages."

Watch Amanpour's interview with Khan:

Khan emphasized that the charges against both Israeli and Palestinian
leaders in the case were based on documented evidence and that the
charges simply follow on the mandates set by international law and
legal standards that must be administered equally, regardless of the
identity of the alleged perpetrator.

"Let us today be clear on one core issue: if we do not demonstrate our
willingness to apply the law equally, if it is seen as being applied
selectively, we will be creating the conditions for its collapse,"
Khan said. "In doing so, we will be loosening the remaining bonds that
hold us together, the stabilizing connections between all communities
and individuals, the safety net to which all victims look in times of
suffering. This is the true risk we face in this moment."

"Now, more than ever," he continued, "we must collectively demonstrate
that international humanitarian law, the foundational baseline for
human conduct during conflict, applies to all individuals and applies
equally across the situations addressed by my Office and the Court.
This is how we will prove, tangibly, that the lives of all human
beings have equal value."

The application for the warrants by Khan does not mean they have been
issued, a determination that will be made by the panel of ICC judges
who oversee such decisions for the court.

Heidi Matthews, assistant professor at Harvard Law School with a focus
on the law of war, said Monday "will go down in the history of
international law" because of what Khan and his team have done.

Citing the Rome Statute, Matthews explained
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Pre-Trial Chamber at the ICC "must now consider the prosecutor's
evidence to assess whether there are reasonable grounds to believe
that they have committed the alleged crimes."

_Jon Queally [[link removed]] is
managing editor of Common Dreams. @jonqueally
[[link removed]] [email protected]
[[link removed]]_

_Common Dreams [[link removed]] is a
reader-supported independent news outlet created in 1997 as a new
media model._

_Our nonprofit newsroom covers the most important news stories of the
moment. Common Dreams free online journalism keeps our millions of
readers well-informed, inspired, and engaged._

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our common dreams._

* International Criminal Court
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* Yahya Sinwar
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* Benjamin Netanyahu
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* war crimes
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