ICC Prosecutor requests arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, and Hamas Leaders--with link to full text and video of announcement

“If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell.”

―Carl Sandburg

Today the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, announced that he had requested international arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and for Yahya Sinwar and other Hamas leaders.

See

“Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine,” International Criminal Court, May 20, 2024 (text and video of announcement). Click on the date to use the link to the text and video of Khan’s announcement.

Khan’s statement contains a damning list of alleged Israeli war crimes, which marks a low point in Israel’s history.

The response of Israel and some of its allies, including the United States, has been to express outrage and to attack the ICC.

Khan’s announcement is worth reading closely and watching carefully. The video is particularly worth watching, as Khan presents a powerful case for issuance of the arrest warrants. His request for arrest warrants represents a notable attempt to hold not only Hamas’s leaders but also Israeli leaders accountable for their actions under International Humanitarian Law.

States should refrain from attacks on the ICC or Prosecutor Khan, and allow the duly-constituted legal process pursuant to the Rome Statute of the ICC (ratified by 124 countries) to run its course.

For an excellent analysis and explanation of why the ICC process should be respected, see

David Kaye, “Let Justice in the Gaza War Take Its Course,” New York Times, May 20, 2024.

David Kaye is a law professor at the University of California, Irvine.

For the perspective from Israel, see

Dahlia Sxheindlin, “The ICC's Unrelenting Pursuit of Justice Against Hamas and Israeli Leaders; The ICC might have lost Israel forever. But the court seeks and pursues justice as the Bible commands. If this doesn't destroy it, the court may win a second chance from the rest of the world,” Haaretz, May 20, 2024 (10:10 pm IDT).

To attack the International Criminal Court and its Prosecutor is merely to adopt the tactics of Donald Trump in responding to his criminal indictments, without ever rebutting the evidence of his crimes.

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