Topline
The International Criminal Court on Monday confirmed it is seeking arrest warrants for several Israeli and Hamas leaders—including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—over alleged war crimes committed on Oct. 7 and during the ongoing conflict in Gaza, but even if the warrants are approved, there is no guarantee the leaders will ever be arrested or tried on charges.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Oct. 28, 2023.
Key Facts
The ICC, founded in 2002, has jurisdiction to prosecute in situations of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes in cases that would be otherwise impossible to try using traditional criminal systems, but it has no power to enforce warrants and instead relies on the cooperation of its 124 member countries (which do not include Israel or the United States) to make arrests, transfer prisoners, freeze assets and enforce sentences.
Dozens of people have been tried through the ICC—Democratic Republic of the Congo military commander Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was the first to be convicted by the court in 2012 for his role in conscripting child soldiers—but others have been able to effectively ignore the warrants issued for their arrests.
Warrants were issued in March of 2023 for Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and its commissioner for children’s rights over the alleged illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia, but neither official has faced the court and a spokesperson for the country, which is not an ICC member, called the move "legally insignificant.”
Others arrested by the ICC include former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi of Libya and Joseph Kony, the Ugandan warlord who rose to prominence with the documentary "Kony 2012” and is wanted for 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Al-Bashir, who has been charged by the court with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, lives fugitive in Sudan and has made several visits to ICC member states like South Africa, Kenya and Chad without being arrested or turned over to the court despite pleas to the UN Security Council to force member compliance.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Big Number
31. That's how many cases have gone before the Netherlands-based ICC. Judges have issued 46 arrest warrants, and 21 people have been detained. The others are either fugitives or have had their charges dropped. Ten people have been convicted.
News Peg
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday said his team applied for arrest warrants of five people involved in the Israel-Hamas war. Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, are facing charges of causing starvation as a method of war, denying humanitarian relief efforts, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict and other crimes. Three members of the militant group Hamas—Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh—are facing charges for alleged crimes on their side of the war, including “extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention."
Key Background
The Hamas militant group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. The hostages were taken to the Gaza strip and dozens have been released or killed. As of Saturday, Israel said 124 hostages remained in captivity. In response to the attack, Israel declared war on Hamas and launched a ground invasion that displaced roughly 1.7 million people in the region and killed another 34,900. Netanyahu has warned he plans to attack the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where more than 1 million displaced civilians have relocated, to eliminate the last strongholds of Hamas, despite warnings from international allies that to do so would likely kill thousands of innocent people.
Tangent
The U.S. had warned against issuing warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders, claiming it would derail the peace process in the region. Axios in April reported that the Israeli prime minister had asked President Joe Biden for his help in stopping the ICC from issuing warrants, but that the court was under pressure from several member states to do so. Netanyahu said in a statement last month that Israel would "never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense.” The Biden administration earlier this month said it was “reasonable to assess” that Israel had broken international law during the war in Gaza, but has also said it does not support the ICC’s investigation.
Chief Critic
Biden on Monday said it was "outrageous" for the court to jointly seek warrants for both Israel and Hamas leaders that accuse them of similar crimes. "Whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence—none—between Israel and Hamas,” the president said. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security." Secretary of State Antony Blinken slammed the ICC's decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli officials and said the move "could jeopardize ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement that would get hostages out." Blinken said the court has no jurisdiction over Israel's action and has overstepped its bounds, calling into question the "legitimacy and credibility of this investigation."
