On November 21, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
Israel submitted an appeal on Sunday against arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The Israeli Army Radio carried the news without providing any further details.
On November 21, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
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In a statement on that day, the ICC announced that “it issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest.”
The ICC emphasized that Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction is not required. The court disclosed the arrest warrants in the interest of the victims.
The statement further detailed that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals 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, from at least 8 October 2023 to 20 May 2024.”
The Court also assessed that “there are reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population of Gaza.”
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Soon after the issuance, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu’s office announced on Wednesday that it planned to appeal the arrest warrants.
“Israel submitted an announcement to the ICC today regarding its intention to appeal to the court along with a demand to delay implementation of the arrest warrants,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office reportedly read.
According to the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel, the statement indicated that although Tel Aviv rejects the ICC’s ruling, it formally notified the court of its intention to present an appeal.
The appeal, Netanyahu’s office claims, will demonstrate “how absurd and without foundation” the arrest warrants are.
Staggering Death Toll
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 44,976 Palestinians have been killed, and 106,759 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
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Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
