International Criminal Court Considers Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Sinwar

International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’s Gaza leader, Yahya Sinwar, on May 20. Also included on his list were Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.

Israel is not a party to the 1998 Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (icc), but “Palestine” is. (Notwithstanding, no one officially recognizes Hamas’s control of the Gaza Strip as legitimate.)

If the warrants are approved, this would group Netanyahu with other world leaders indicted for war crimes, like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Sudan’s Omar Bashir.

What does this mean? If approved, if any of these individuals step into a country that is party to the Rome Statute, the country would be obligated to arrest him. This is why Israel, the United States, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and many other influential countries are not members of the treaty. But the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Japan and many others are. For Netanyahu, this would make visiting much of the world off-limits.

How is this different from Israel’s other war crimes trial? Earlier this year, South Africa charged Israel in the International Court of Justice (icj) with genocide against Palestinians. The icj is an organ of the United Nations and indicts countries. The icc was also established by the UN, but it is independent and indicts individuals.

Netanyahu is not the man firing bullets into Rafah, but he represents Israel’s war effort. Therefore, the icc’s actions are also a judgment against the Israel Defense Forces at large.

All against Israel? The icj hasn’t slowed down Israel’s war effort. It is unlikely the icc will do so either. Yet the latest incident underscores how the world is ganging up on Israel.

There is a reason for this. To learn more, read “Israel: A Brother Betrayed” in our latest Trumpet issue.