Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague Calls for Arrest Warrants for Israeli and Hamas Leaders

The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague announced that he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and the leaders of the extremist group Hamas on charges of "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity." Karim Khan, the prosecutor, spoke on Monday, May 21, in an interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN regarding the reasons for this request, referring to the Hamas attack on Israeli territory and the subsequent war of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip. He stated that he is seeking international arrest warrants against Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammad Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (known as Mohammad Deif), the internal and external leaders of Hamas, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, and Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Minister of Defense. According to CNN, Khan's request for arrest warrants must be reviewed by a panel of ICC prosecutors. Khan mentioned that the charges for which he is seeking arrest warrants against Sinwar, Haniyeh, and al-Masri include "murder, hostage-taking, sexual assault, and assault on kidnapped (Israeli) individuals." Yahya Sinwar and "Mohammad Deif" are hiding in Gaza tunnels. Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, who has primarily resided in Doha, Qatar in recent years, travels between countries such as Turkey and Iran, where the likelihood of his arrest in these friendly and supportive governments is low. The United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Karim Khan, the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, further added that on the day of Hamas's attack on southern Israel (on October 6 of last year), "seeing people (in Israel) being pulled out of their bedrooms, homes, and settlements was shocking for the world." He referred to his intention to issue arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for reasons such as "mass killings, creating conditions leading to starvation as a war tactic, preventing humanitarian aid, and targeting civilians in the conflict." In response to Netanyahu's remarks last month, who called the possibility of the ICC taking action to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials "a historical insult," Khan told CNN that "no one is above the law." Netanyahu has recently taken a strong stance against the possibility of arrest warrants being issued against Israeli officials, emphasizing that his country is defending itself against "terrorist attacks." The Israeli Prime Minister stated, "Eighty years after the Holocaust, international institutions established to prevent another Holocaust want to deprive Israel of its right to defend itself against those who committed genocide against us." Following CNN's report on Monday, "a senior Israeli official" told his country's media that if the prosecutor's request is implemented, Karim Khan would be guilty of "hypocrisy, deceit, and shame" on an "international scale." Amal Clooney, a Lebanese-born international law attorney and wife of Hollywood actor George Clooney, published the conclusions of a panel of legal experts on Monday that supported the ICC prosecutor's intention to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials and Hamas leaders. The panel, of which Ms. Clooney is a member, was tasked with advising the Hague prosecutor regarding his request based on the "Rome Statute" under which the court was established. According to a report by Axios on May 2, Israel had "warned" the United States that if the ICC in The Hague issues arrest warrants for Israeli political leaders and military commanders, it would lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. Axios reported that Israel told the U.S. that if such warrants were issued, it would hold the Palestinian Authority responsible and retaliate with "strong measures" that could lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. Despite the serious concerns raised among Israeli leaders regarding the ICC's potential issuance of arrest warrants, a U.S. official told Axios on May 2 that the Biden administration does not believe that the ICC is likely to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials soon. However, senior members of both the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. warned the ICC last month that if arrest warrants were issued for Israeli leaders, the U.S. would also take action against the court's officials. The ICC prosecutor's office on May 3 called for an end to "intimidation" against the staff of this institution and deemed such threats, even if not acted upon, as "a crime" against this international body. The statement from the ICC prosecutor's office did not mention specific individuals or countries but stated, "All efforts to prevent, intimidate, or improperly influence" this institution and its staff "must be stopped immediately." The statement added that the "Rome Statute" (under which the court was established) defines the structure and jurisdiction of this institution and prohibits such actions. Khan's unusual statement emphasized that the independence and impartiality of the court are weakened "when individuals threaten revenge." The ICC in The Hague was established to address genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression based on the "Rome Statute," adopted in 1998. Although Israel and the U.S. signed the "Rome Statute," they have not finalized it and are not members of the court. The Palestinian Authority, the main complainant against Israel, has been a member of the ICC for nine years. After the Palestinian government joined the court, it announced its jurisdiction to handle complaints related to the situation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. The ICC has been investigating complaints filed by the Palestinian Authority against Israel regarding the expansion of settlements in Palestinian territories and is still investigating the Israeli army's operations against the extremist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2014, which has also led to the gathering of evidence regarding the current war of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip. The case against Israel for "genocide" is also ongoing in another court in The Hague, which is affiliated with the United Nations, with a complaint from the South African government. The Pretoria government requested additional immediate orders to stop Israeli military operations in Rafah, completely cease the war, and withdraw Israeli soldiers from the Gaza Strip during last week's International Court of Justice hearings. That court has not yet issued its new ruling.