The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a prominent Hamas leader. The ICC, headquartered in the Netherlands, accuses Prime Minister Netanyahu of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the protracted conflict in Gaza following the October 7 assault on Israel by Hamas in 2023.

Netanyahu branded the court’s decision “absurd and false.” He asserted that Israel’s actions in Gaza are justified.

The ICC’s move designates Netanyahu and the others as internationally wanted figures. However, the practical impact of these warrants is dubious. Neither Israel nor its primary ally, the United States, are members of the ICC. The Hamas official the court is seeking has reportedly already been killed in the ongoing conflict.

The ICC claims there is evidence that Netanyahu and Gallant were responsible for attacks targeting civilians. Among the alleged crimes is the use of starvation as a method of warfare.

The ICC relies on member states to enforce arrests, lacking its own policing capacity. Israel has consistently rejected the court’s jurisdiction, and it seems unlikely Britain and other Western ICC members will take Netanyahu into custody.

The warrants come after the ICC also issued similar arrest warrants for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and others in March of 2023, arguing that Russia had kidnapped children from Ukraine.

Russia, like Israel and the United States, is not a current signatory to the Rome Statute and does not recognize the authority of the ICC, as the country withdrew its support in 2016. No country has yet to attempt to arrest President Putin, either.

Image by World Economic Forum/swiss-image.ch/Photo Jolanda Flubacher.

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