In a decision that represents a kind of tectonic disruption in the global legal landscape, the International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, as well as Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri, for alleged crimes in the conflict in It treads.
As the British "Guardian" points out, this is the first time that an ally of the West from a modern democracy has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global judicial body.
As expected, Israel rejected the accusations as absurd and false, calling the ICC's move anti-Semitic. Hamas welcomed the arrest warrants for the Israeli officials, and a senior official of the organization told Reuters that it was "the first step towards justice."
In the decision, the ICC judges stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Galant are criminally responsible for acts such as murder, persecution and starvation as a means of warfare, as part of the "extensive and systematic attack on the civilian population of Gaza".
Masri's arrest warrant includes allegations of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, as well as allegations of rape and hostage-taking.
Israel said Masri, also known as Muhammad Deif, was killed in an airstrike in July, but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.
In Israel, the consequences of the issuance of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant will not be immediately visible, and it is possible that they will even increase support for the prime minister from a defiant Israeli public.
However, in the long run, the gravity of the charges could become more and more serious, significantly limiting the movement of the two Israeli officials in the world. The stigma of being accused of war crimes is a heavy burden that cannot be easily dismissed, writes the British newspaper, adding that the issuance of an arrest warrant will forever change the status of the ICC.
While the UN Security Council has done very little to ease the war in Gaza, after yesterday's decision the International Criminal Court will be seen, especially in the Global South, as a more effective defender of the UN Charter.
The United States, which is not a member of the ICC, yesterday rejected the Court's decision and expressed concern over "the prosecutor's haste to seek arrest warrants and troubling procedural errors that led to this decision." However, "The Guardian" points out that this attitude could cost the USA dearly in terms of international credibility and reputation as a protector of global justice.
The European head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Galant are not political and that the court's decision should be respected and implemented.
"These decisions are binding on all signatory states of the Rome Statute, which includes all EU member states," he said.
Some members of the ICC, including Britain, France and Italy, have said they respect the tribunal's independence, but have not specifically said whether they will execute an arrest warrant if they have the opportunity to do so.
Although the ICC's decision will cause discomfort in some of the signatory states, the reputation of the Tribunal could increase in countries that until now viewed it as a tool of the Western world. While the UN Security Council has done very little to defuse the war in Gaza, the ICC will be seen, especially in the Global South, as a more effective defender of the UN Charter.
Iva Vukušić, assistant professor at the University of Utrecht in the department of international history, told "The Guardian" that the arrest warrants are historic, because for the first time they refer to a close ally of the "Western" permanent members of the Security Council, who until now have been almost exempt. from international judicial supervision.
"Israel is considered by many to be a functioning democracy with a capable judicial system and a close ally of the West, and so far we have not seen an arrest warrant in such a situation."
One thing the warrants are unlikely to do is topple Netanyahu, or even weaken him.
"It will strengthen Netanyahu," said Dalia Sheindlin, an Israeli expert on international public opinion. "The Israelis are absolutely convinced that the international system generally exists to unfairly target Israel. That is the general attitude throughout the Jewish community.”
This means that very few Israelis see the arrest warrants as proof that Netanyahu is hurting their country on the global stage, pushing it toward outlaw status.
There will be a long list of ICC member countries that Netanyahu and Galant will not be able to visit, as they would be required to act on an arrest warrant. The USA, Russia and China are not members, the "Guardian" points out.
"The MKS plays for the long haul," said Vukušić. “Once warrants are issued, they follow you almost to death. If, after the issuance of the warrant, Netanyahu, for example, goes to the US again to speak before Congress, it is at least an embarrassment for the US and makes its hypocrisy obvious".
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