First ICC Arrest Warrants Issued, ICJP Calls for Further Charges against suspected Israeli War Criminals
London, 21st November 2024: In a historical and a very long-awaited day, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has today announced the issuing of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and a Hamas official, after the Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber accepted Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan KC’s application. The Chamber issued warrants for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest.
Six months since the Prosecutor announced his application for warrants, and over a year into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the news that these warrants have finally been approved is as welcome as it is overdue. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) calls for all State Parties to the Rome Statute to support the ICC’s investigation, arrest, and prosecution processes, including the United Kingdom.
UK government officials that have denied and downplayed Israeli war crimes should play close attention to their comments, because arrest warrants today for Israeli officials responsible mean there is every chance that arrest warrants can also be issued for those complicit in aiding and abetting Israel’s crimes.
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) also calls for the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) to commence pursuit of warrants for a greater range of charges including against additional perpetrators. This is a crucial step on the road to accountability, but the institutionalisation and extent of Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity demonstrate how responsibility does not neatly fall between two individuals. Moreover, the extent of crimes since the application for arrest warrants also requires further investigation.
The arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant charge them for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza, including the use of starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. The Court has, clearly, closely reviewed the wealth of evidence set before it – this includes a substantial number of first hand witness statements and evidence supplied by ICJP to support the ICC in its investigation.
ICJP notes the months long threats, harassment, and attempts at lawfare against the Court set up by parties hostile to the Rule of Law to destabilise the investigation. It is also reassuring to see that The Chamber rejected Israel’s requests that sought to challenge the Court’s jurisdiction and delay the investigation under Article 19(2) and Article 18(1) respectively. These efforts transparently seek to destabilise and undermine the international order. For far too long, Israel has uniquely enjoyed impunity for its violations of international law and today, this impunity comes to an end.
As a State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, the UK must abide by the Rome Statute’s Article 86 General Obligation to Cooperate with investigation and prosecution, and the Article 87 provisions to assist the Court’s processes. It was, however, reported weeks ago that the United Kingdom was reportedly considering support for warrants in light of domestic political ‘trade-offs’ in policies. Such affairs can have no bearing whatsoever on the UK’s fulfilment of its Rome Statute obligations, and future assistance with the Court’s processes must be made immediately and unconditionally.
It is ICJP’s assessment that warrants are required for a greater number of charges against Netanyahu and Gallant. Additionally, charges must be pursued against other members of the Israeli War Cabinet and Israeli government officials, considered by ICJP as culpable for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza since October 2023, and in the entire occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) since the beginning of the Court’s jurisdiction since 2014.
Namely, we stress the importance of a full investigation by the Prosecutor’s office into allegations of crimes of sexual violence and torture as well as crimes against humanity against Palestinians, and for further applications for arrest warrants to be made if evidence is found to be sufficient. Israeli officials additionally ought to be made to stand trial for the commission of acts of genocide, especially considering the International Court of Justice’s May 2024 ruling in the case brought by South Africa with regard to the Israel’s violations of the Genocide Convention.
ICJP Director Tayab Ali has stated:
“This is the most significant ruling in the history of international humanitarian law. The ICC just smashed Israel’s decades long impunity to pieces. It is now clear that there is a prima facie case for Israel to answer that it has committed war crimes on an industrial scale in Gaza.
Those accused should be arrested and brought to face trial at the ICC immediately. No longer can States allied to Israel turn a blind eye to its belligerent occupation and war crimes in Palestine.
We will be continuing our painstaking investigative work and now target those suspected of aiding and abetting Israel’s war crimes, not least, members of the UK government that continue to fuel Israel’s war machine and make themselves complicit in its crimes’.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
ICJP is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.
For more information, to arrange an interview with an ICJP spokesperson, or for any other media enquiries, please contact the ICJP news desk at press@icjpalestine.com.