Karim Khan, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, accuses Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of numerous crimes including “starvation as a method of war” and “deliberately targeting civilians.”
Groundxero | May 20, 2024
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on May 20 announced that he has “formally applied” to seek arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well as the top political and military leaders of Hamas. The ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan in his statement said that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for the war crimes and crimes against humanity “committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023”.
In a world exclusive carried by CNN, Karim Khan told correspondent 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.”
Khan said that “Israel has intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival.” “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.”
Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC:
Based on the evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin NETANYAHU, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav GALLANT, the Minister of Defence of Israel, bear criminal… pic.twitter.com/0FpcRtv8ED
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) May 20, 2024
In Khan’s application, the official “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” by Israel — 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).
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.
The ICC believes them to be “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.”
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.
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.
The International Court of Justice, a separate body is also investigating whether Israel has committed acts of genocide in the ongoing war in Gaza, with any ruling expected to take years. Israel has rejected allegations of committing war crimes and genocide, have justified its military offensive as an act in self-defence and accused both international courts of bias.
After the Hamas attack on its territory on 7th October 2023, Israel launched a massive air, sea and ground offensive in Gaza Strip that has so far killed over 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities, and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine.