By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister and a Hamas military chief for alleged war crimes.
Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant were accused of “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024”, a statement from the court said on Thursday.
There are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Gallant and Netanyahu “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”, the statement said.
The court also decided “unanimously” to issue an arrest warrant for Hamas’s military commander Mohammed al-Masri, known as Mohammed Dief, “for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the territory of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine from at least 7 October 2023”.
It accused him of crimes including murder, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence.
Israel claims to have killed Deif in an air raid in southern Gaza in July. But the court decided to proceed with the warrant, saying it was “not in a position to determine whether [he] has been killed or remains alive”.
The court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, had requested the arrest warrants in May, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for causing mass starvation in Gaza that constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The arrest warrants could increase the external pressure on Netanyahu’s government as the US seeks to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but could well strengthen the prime minister’s political position in Israel in the short term, as most Israelis reject the ICC’s jurisdiction as interference in their country’s internal affairs.
Meanwhile the South African government has welcomed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants.
In a statement from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said, that the ICC’s move is a significant development in addressing the situation in Palestine.
“South Africa reaffirms its commitment to international law and urges all state parties to act in accordance with their obligations in the Rome Statute,” the department said.
“We call on the global community to uphold the rule of law and ensure accountability for human rights violations.”