Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately criticized the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court after he urged justices on Tuesday to issue a swift ruling on arrest warrants for the Israeli premier, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and two top Hamas terrorist leaders.
Karim Khan’s comparison between Israel, “which is fighting murderous Hamas terrorism in accordance with the laws of war, and war criminal [Yahya] Sinwar, who executed Israeli hostages in cold blood, is pure antisemitism and a moral disgrace of the highest order,” he stated.
“Unfortunately, we have seen from the beginning that the proceedings in The Hague are politically biased and have no professional legal basis whatsoever,” the premier added in a statement published by his office.
In a filing to the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber on Monday, Khan expressed frustration with the court’s delay in issuing the arrest warrants, urging action ahead of Netanyahu’s scheduled address to the United Nations General Assembly later this month, Israel’s Ynet outlet reported.
“The prosecution respectfully requests that the Chamber issue its decision on the applications for the warrants of arrest against Yahya Sinwar, [Mohammed] Deif, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Yoav Gallant with utmost urgency,” Khan wrote in a six-page letter to the ICC justices.
The arrest of the four, the prosecutor insisted, “is necessary to, inter alia, ensure that they do not obstruct or endanger the investigation or court proceedings, prevent the continuing commission of the crimes alleged and/or the commission of other Rome Statute crimes. “
In May, Khan demanded the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes. He lumped the two Israelis together with then-Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, Hamas “military” leader Mohammed Deif and Hamas “political” head Ismail Haniyeh. (Deif was reportedly killed in Gaza and Haniyeh in Iran, both in July, by Israeli forces as part of Swords of Iron.)
The ICC has no jurisdiction as Jerusalem is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court. But in a legalistic sleight of hand, the court claimed jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, even though no such state exists 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 the two Israeli leaders could be placed under arrest while visiting these places.
