Arrest warrants have been issued for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant by the International Criminal Court. The Telegraph has more.
The warrants are “for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least October 8th 2023 until at least May 20th 2024”, the Hague-based ICC said in a statement.
It also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif, who is seen as the mastermind of the October 7th attacks. Israel claimed to have killed him earlier this year.
The ICC’s decision turns Mr. Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a ceasefire to end the 13-month Gaza conflict.
Benny Gantz, former Defence Minister and leader of the opposition party National Unity, called the decision a “historical disgrace that will never be forgotten.”
The US is not a member of the ICC and criticised the court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan harshly for bringing a case against Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant, with Joe Biden calling it “outrageous” in May.
The Israeli Parliament Speaker Amir Ohana has condemned the move as an “assault on justice, truth and the universal right of self-defence”.
In a statement, Amir Ohana went on to say that the decision “marks a dark day in the history of international law”.
Continuing, Mr. Ohana said the ICC had chosen to “politicise its mandate, turning itself into a tool of terrorists and those who seek to delegitimise Israel’s right to exist”.
He called on democracies across the world to “take heed of the dangerous precedent this decision sets, threatening all nations fighting the scourge of terrorism”.
“We reject this decision with the full moral force of our conviction and will continue to act decisively to defend our people and our sovereignty.”
Mr. Ohana signed off the message by saying that the ICC “didn’t get the memo on Mohammed Deif”.
Follow the Telegraph‘s live coverage here.
Stop Press: The U.S. has said it “fundamentally rejects” the ICC’s decision but Keir Starmer has backed the ICC. From the Telegraph.
When asked about the issue, Sir Keir’s official spokesman said the Government respected the independence of the court.
He declined to say whether Mr. Netanyahu would be arrested if he arrived in the U.K.
The spokesman said: “We respect the independence of the ICC, which is the primary institutional institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes in relation to international law.
“This Government has been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself in accordance with international law. There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, which are terror groups.
“We remain focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the devastating violence in Gaza.”
Under the Conservatives, the British Government had told the court it intended to challenge the plans for the arrest warrants.
However, weeks after coming to power, Sir Keir’s Government reversed that position and said it would not object.
Downing Street also declined to say whether Mr. Netanyahu would be welcome to visit Britain in the future.
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