ICC seeks arrest warrants for Israel PM, defence minister and Hamas leaders
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan has announced that he is pursuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.
Source: Al Jazeera
He is also seeking arrests warrants for Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant and other top Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.
Source: SKY NEWS
War crime arrest warrant sought. What next?
Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor, must request the warrants from a pre-trial panel of three judges, who take on average two months to consider the evidence and determine if the proceedings can move forward.
- Israel is not a member of The Hague-based court, and even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution.
But Khan’s announcement deepens Israel’s isolation as it presses ahead with its devastating war on Gaza. The threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.
- Out of the three Hamas leader against whom arrest warrant has been sought, two of them – Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif – are in Gaza. But Ismail Haniyeh, the political head of Hamas, is based in Qatar and frequently travels across the region.
Source: Al Jazeera
ICC Prosecutor seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Sinwar
Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan conflated the leaders of the Hamas terror organization with those of the only democracy in the Middle East, saying he is seeking warrants for ‘war crimes and crimes against humanity.’
- The International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of “war crimes and crimes against humanity” over the October 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, he told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Monday.
Khan also said the court is seeking warrants for Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as two other top Hamas leaders: leader of the Al Qassem Brigades Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ political leader.
Khan told CNN that the charges against Sinwar, Haniyeh, and al-Masri include “extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention.”
- He added: “The world was shocked on the 7th of October when people were ripped from their bedrooms, from their homes, from the different kibbutzim in Israel. People have suffered enormously.”
As for the Israeli officials, Khan said the charges include: “Causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”
A panel of ICC judges will now consider Khan’s application for the arrest warrants.
Source: Arutz Sheva