Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and Turkey on Thursday welcomed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Hamas politburo member Basem Naim said the decision is “an important step toward justice and can lead to redress for the victims in general, but it remains limited and symbolic if it is not supported by all means by all countries around the world.”
Naim did not comment on the separate arrest warrant, also issued by the ICC on Thursday, for Hamas’s slain military chief Muhammad Deif. Israel in August confirmed the elusive Deif had been killed in an airstrike on Khan Younis. Hamas has not confirmed he was killed, and the ICC said it could not do so either.
Commenting on the ICC warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, Hamas called on the court to expand the scope of the warrants and seek the arrest of all Israeli leaders, government ministers and army officers who were involved in the war. The terror group also urged countries across the world to cooperate with the tribunal in bringing Netanyahu and Gallant to justice.
Hamas also accused the White House of “attempting to obstruct the proceedings for months by intimidating the court and its judges.” US lawmakers had repeatedly warned they could seek to sanction court officials if the warrants were issued, though the White House made no such threats.
Turkey, which is said to be hosting leaders of the terror group after they were kicked out of Qatar, also hailed the “very important step” taken by the ICC.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan (center) announces that he has requested arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, May 20, 2024. (Courtesy, International Criminal Court)
“This decision is an extremely important step in bringing to justice the Israeli authorities who committed genocide against Palestinians,” wrote Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on X.
Turkey, an ICC member state, has been harshly critical of the war in Gaza, to which it cut off its robust trade ties with Israel.
Meanwhile, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority — led by Fatah, the secularist rival of Hamas — also praised the ICC’s decision.
“The ICC’s decision restores hope and trust not only in international law along with UN institutions, but also in the importance of justice, accountability and prosecution of war criminals, particularly at a time when the Palestinian people are still subject to genocide,” the PA said, according to its official news agency WAFA.
The PA urged member states of the court and the United Nations to cut off ties with Netanyahu and Gallant, “implement the court’s decision and prosecute criminals before courts,” WAFA said.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas leads a prayer in memory of those killed in Gaza at the start of a Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee meeting in Ramallah on October 17, 2024. (Wafa)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called on the government to sanction the PA over the ICC case against Israel. The PA, which joined the court in 2015, had complained against Israel over settlement activity in the West Bank and alleged war crimes in the 2014 Gaza war against Hamas.
The warrants issued Thursday effectively bar Netanyahu and Gallant from entering 124 countries that are members of the ICC.
Israel and the United States — neither of which are members of the ICC — have slammed the court’s decision. Other countries, including ICC member states Canada, Spain and the Netherlands, said they would respect the court’s rulings.
Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor, had announced in May that he was seeking warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant on charges that Israel has targeted civilians in Gaza and used starvation as a method of war. Netanyahu has since fired Gallant.
Khan also sought arrest warrants against Hamas leader Deif, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh for war crimes during and after the onslaught that sparked the war in Gaza. Sinwar was killed in a chance encounter with Israeli troops in Gaza in October, and Haniyeh was killed by an explosion in his room in Tehran in July. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its role in the blast that killed Haniyeh.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a vote at the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, March 13, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
In a separate ongoing case, brought by South Africa before the International Court of Justice, Israel is accused of genocide in Gaza.
The war in Gaza was sparked on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages. Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed over 44,000 people, according to the Strip’s Hamas-led health ministry. The figure, which cannot be independently verified, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
