ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense chief

(LifeSiteNews) — The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant.

In a press release Thursday, the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court said, “The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest.”

In separate rulings, the court rejected Israeli applications to halt the proceedings against Netanyahu and Gallant, and also an Israeli claim that since it does not recognize the court, the ICC has no jurisdiction to pronounce on accusations of genocide and war crimes allegedly committed by Israel.

“[T]he Chamber noted that the acceptance by Israel of the Court’s jurisdiction is not required, as the Court can exercise its jurisdiction on the basis of territorial jurisdiction of Palestine, as determined by Pre-Trial Chamber I in a previous composition,” the press release said.

The ruling stated that Israel has no legal right to challenge the jurisdiction of the Court: “Furthermore … States are not entitled to challenge the Court’s jurisdiction under article 19(2) prior to the issuance of a warrant of arrest.”

The grounds for the warrant were explained as follows. As prime minister and defense minister “at the time” the alleged crimes were committed, both are held “criminally responsible” due to their political positions:

READ: Israel’s Zionist ideology the ‘principal cause’ of the war in the Middle East: eminent scholar

With regard to the crimes, the Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu … and Mr Gallant … each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.

The court also stressed that both men were reasonably suspected “as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

The case against Netanyahu and Gallant details their “intentional … impeding [of] humanitarian aid in violation of international humanitarian law” – a reference to the blockade of aid into Gaza.

“Both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity, from at least 8 October 2023 to 20 May 2024.”

This serious charge is supported by evidence supplied by the U.S. State Department and USAID, whose reports concluded that the continued supply of aid to Israel whilst its blockade of Gaza continued was a violation of U.S. law.

These reports were delivered to Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, in April 2024. Though Blinken chose to disregard them in his report to Congress on aid flows into Gaza, he did issue a 30-day “ultimatum” to Israel in October 2024 – warning that if the blockade continued, U.S. military aid to Israel may be halted. This followed reports by the United Nations that famine had spread throughout Gaza.

During this 30-day period Israel’s parliament voted to shut down the largest humanitarian relief organization operating in Gaza – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Rather than comply with Blinken’s “demand” to alleviate the crisis, Israel took swift action to intensify the “man-made famine” its blockade has created across Gaza’s 1.3 million inhabitants.

See below the recent powerful speech on the floor of the Knesset on Monday by left coalition leader Ayman Odeh, who passionately recounted the harrowing experience of a Palestinian father. He angrily condemned Benjamin Netanyahu, who was sitting across from him, for his attacks on Gaza. Odeh was eventually dragged from the podium. Some others in the Knesset were supportive of Odeh:

The warnings of famine have been repeatedly made by the head of UNRWA, which explains Israel’s motive in banning the agency from Gaza entirely. As a result, “more people will die” – as a November 10 statement from UNRWA said.

The so-called “deadline” passed with no attempt by Israel to meet Blinken’s demands. No action was taken by Blinken as a result, with Israel’s open defiance of the U.S. compounded by violations of international and US law.

The State Department itself is now complicit in the crimes alleged against Netanyahu and Gallant. One former staffer resigned over the “scandal” of Blinken’s apparent refusal to acknowledge Israel’s actions in his statement to the House, saying, “That report and its flagrant untruths will haunt us.”

Stacy Gilbert, “a former senior civil military adviser in the refugee’s bureau,” was involved in drafting Blinken’s report. As ProPublica reported in September, she said, “There is abundant evidence showing Israel is responsible for blocking aid,” before adding, “To deny this is absurd and shameful.”

Blinken has been accused of “lying to Congress” over his refusal to mention the reports he had seen showing Israel had deliberately obstructed food and aid from entering Gaza. 

See below the recent moving speech by Jason Jones, but especially also the Palestinian Christian who related the tragic experiences Palestinian Christians are enduring in Israel under Netanyahu’s extreme Zionist regime:

Under the Leahy Law, it is illegal for the United States to supply weapons or funds to the military of any state suspected of the active commission of war crimes. Tim Reiser, who helped draft former Sen. Patrick Leahy’s eponymous law, told Responsible Statecraft in May 2024 that this law had “never been applied to Israel” since it was passed in 1997.

“Israel even gets a special process for Leahy vetting that leaves more room for political interference, according to a former State Department official,” as Connor Echol’s report explained.

The news follows the U.S. veto of a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza tabled at yesterday’s UN Security Council. The United States was the only member to vote against the measure, which would have seen the international community united in condemnation of Israel’s actions.

The issue of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant follow a separate allegation of charges against the State of Israel for the commission of genocide.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation in Palestine, Francesca Alabanese, has concluded that the actions of the state of Israel “meet the threshold for the definition of genocide.” Her March 2024 report  – “Anatomy of a Genocide” – was followed by her call to suspend Israel from the United Nations, suggesting ICC prosecutions could include “genocide deniers” such as U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Her latest update on the alleged genocide was published in October, and states, “The violence that Israel has unleashed against the Palestinians post-7 October is not happening in a vacuum, but is part of a long-term intentional, systematic, State-organized forced displacement and replacement of the Palestinians.”

These are the allegations facing the political and military leadership of Israel, whose actions to prevent aid from reaching the Palestinians have been documented by agencies of the U.S. government itself. There can be no serious claim made that the charges rest on any bias alleged by Israel in the proceedings of the Court when two U.S. government agencies have reached the same conclusion on the deliberate restriction of aid.

READ: Israel openly defies US ultimatum as Biden admin provides cover for famine

The ICC’s investigation of Israel for war crimes has been labeled “antisemitic” by Israeli opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman.

The announcement in 2021 of the ICC’s investigation of Israel on the grounds of war crimes saw Benjamin Netanyahu respond with the same change – and an invocation of the Holocaust.

“When the ICC investigates Israel for fake war crimes, this is pure anti-Semitism,” said Netanyahu, the Times of Israel recorded. He continued, “The court established to prevent atrocities like the Nazi Holocaust against the Jewish people is now targeting the one state of the Jewish people.”

Netanyahu did not mention that the ICC had also issued proceedings for arrest warrants against three leaders of Hamas – all of whom have since been killed by Israel.

The ICC determined it had jurisdiction to investigate allegations of war crimes including genocide against the State of Israel in a ruling of February 2021.

A UN press release in May 2024 condemned “statements made by United States and Israeli officials threatening to retaliate against the International Criminal Court (ICC), its officials and members of their families.”

These threats, said the United Nations, “promote a culture of impunity” around Israel  – which is secured by U.S. support. With the new arrest warrants, backed by the scandal of the U.S. knowingly arming a state committing crimes against humanity, a serious question arises.

How far will the United States go to protect Israel’s state of exception? The Biden administration is willing to violate U.S. law to continue arming a prime minister accused of war crimes – and its own findings support some of the worst charges.

While the U.S. does not recognize international law, it now appears to be willing to ignore its own. For Israel, there is always a loophole. That loophole may prove to be a noose around the neck of the U.S. itself, as with no legal nor moral restraint, it seems content to follow the Israelis silently into isolation – and into the abyss.