Hamas welcomed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Al Jazeera reported.
“We welcome the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for terrorists Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said the globally designated terror group.
“We urge the International Criminal Court to hold all Israeli leaders accountable,” the statement continued. “We call on the countries of the world to cooperate with the court to bring war criminals Netanyahu and Galant and stop the crimes of genocide against civilians in Gaza.”
Israel’s Ynet news outlet cited Izzat al-Risheq, a senior member of Hamas’s politburo based in Qatar, as saying that “regardless of the possibility of implementation, the truth that has been revealed is that international justice is with us, while it is against the Zionist entity. This increased awareness and the exposure of the true terrorist face of the occupying entity is in the interest of the Palestinian cause and its future and strengthens our future goal of liberation.”
The ICC’s Pre-Trial 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,” it said in a Thursday statement.
In a separate statement, the court ordered the arrest of Mohammed Deif, the supreme commander of Hamas’s “military wing,” who according to the Israel Defense Forces was killed in an airstrike in Gaza on July 13.
Regarding Deif, the court said it had “reasonable grounds to believe that senior leaders of Hamas, comprising at least Mr. Deif, Mr. [Yahya] Sinwar, and Mr. [Ismail] Haniyeh, agreed to jointly carry out the 7 October 2023 Operation.”
Khan had requested warrants against former Hamas political leader Haniyeh and Hamas terrorist chief Sinwar, but dropped the legal proceedings after their deaths on July 31 and Oct. 16, respectively.
Roughly 1,200 civilians were murdered by Hamas-led terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. Thousands more were wounded and 251 others were taken into the Gaza Strip.
The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel as Jerusalem is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court. But in a legalistic sleight of hand, the court has asserted jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, even though no such state is recognized under international law.
The 123 countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute are obligated to act on any arrest warrant it issues, raising the possibility that Netanyahu and Gallant could be placed under arrest while visiting these places.
