Sunday, February 16FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE

ICC Issues Arrest Warrants for Naziyahu, Nazi Gallant for Crimes Against Humanity

Posted by: John Phoenix

The court said there is “reasonable ground” to believe the Israeli leaders committed crimes against humanity in Gaza.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 21, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) speaks to Defence Minister Yoav Gallant (left) at the opening of the 25th Parliament session in Jerusalem on October 28, 2024.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) speaks to Defence Minister Yoav Gallant (left) at the opening of the 25th Parliament session in Jerusalem on October 28, 2024.

Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, support us with a donation of any size.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued long-awaited arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The ICC said in a statement that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant have violated international law in using starvation as a method of warfare and committed crimes against humanity of “murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.” The court also accused the two officials of the war crime of intentionally attacking a civilian population.

The issuing of the warrants means that the Israeli officials could be arrested if they stepped foot in countries that are party to the ICC statute and that would comply with the warrant. Practically, this means that Netanyahu and Gallant will avoid certain countries when traveling abroad, which Netanyahu has already been doing in anticipation of the arrest warrant issuance.

The court said it decided to release normally secret information on the warrants because the alleged war crimes are still ongoing. Thus far, Israeli forces have killed at least 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza, though expert analyses have found that the true death toll is likely much higher.

Overnight on Thursday, Israel carried out a series of bombings of Gaza that killed at least 88 Palestinians, “including many children in their sleep,” as Al Jazeera reported. One attack alone in the north Gaza city of Beit Lahia killed 66 people.

Related Story
Displaced Palestinians queue to receive food rations, offered by a charity, in Gaza's Al-Shati refugee camp on October 17, 2024.

Human Rights

UN Report: Israel’s Tactics in Gaza Are “Consistent With Genocide”

Israel’s “unprecedented destruction” has deprived Palestinians of all conditions of life, the group found.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 14, 2024

“The Chamber considered 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,” the statement on the warrants read.

The court noted that Israeli officials have conditioned the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza on international pressure or “requests by the United State of America.”

Meanwhile, Netanyahu and Gallants’ role in the limiting of medical supplies, deprivation of conditions of life and deprivation of Palestinians’ fundamental rights have likely constituted crimes of humanity, the court said. The court also found instances in which Israeli officials allegedly intentionally directed attacks on civilians, a war crime.

The Netherlands and France have announced that they would act on the warrants if given the opportunity. Other countries, like Ireland, have praised the issuing of the warrants. The White House has rejected the court’s decision, with officials having previously rejected the ICC’s jurisdiction over Israel’s genocide. However, Dearborn, Michigan, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said the city would arrest the two “if they step within Dearborn city limits.”

The ICC also issued a warrant for the leader of Hamas’s military division, Mohammed Deif, over his role in the October 7, 2023, attack. Israel claimed to have killed Deif in a July air strike, but Hamas hasn’t confirmed or denied his status.

Israeli leaders have rejected the accusations, with Netanyahu’s office calling the warrants “antisemitic,” without evidence. In September, Israel submitted a challenge to the ICC’s jurisdiction over the court’s request for arrest warrants, but the court unanimously rejected the challenge on Thursday.

Hamas officials have said that the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant are an “important step” but must be “backed practically by all countries,” while also calling on the court to expand its scope over the Gaza genocide to include other leaders responsible for Israel’s occupation and assault.

Human rights groups and international legal experts praised the court’s decision, saying that they are especially important as Israeli leaders undertake concerted efforts to obstruct the court’s proceedings.

“Either the ICC will successfully prosecute Netanyahu and Gallant or the U.S. will disembowel the international court to protect itself and fellow accused war criminals,” said human rights attorney Noura Erakat. “Either way it’s a win because the U.S. (and Israel) continues to show their face and further isolate themselves globally.”

However, some commentators noted that the warrants may end up being effectively meaningless if they are not followed up with action to end the genocide.

“Best thing we can all do now is agitate states to issue arrest warrants when Netanyahu and Gallant step on their soil,” Erakat said. “Make it impossible for them to travel, make it impossible for Israeli subordinates who gleefully posted videos of themselves hunting for babies and bombing schools.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) once again called for the U.S. to stop sending Israel weapons in a statement in reaction to the warrants.

“The International Criminal Court’s long overdue decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity signals that the days of the Israeli apartheid government operating with impunity are ending,” said Tlaib. “Our government must urgently end our complicity in these violations of human rights and international law.”

Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn

Dear Truthout Community,

If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.

We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.

Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.

There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.

Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?

It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.

We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.

We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.

Sharon Zhang

Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering politics, climate and labor. Before coming to Truthout, Sharon had written stories for Pacific StandardThe New Republic, and more. She has a master’s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter and Bluesky.

…Reading List

Environment & Health

143 Million Americans Could Be Exposed to Toxic PFAS in Drinking Water

Human Rights

ICC Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant for Crimes Against Humanity

Environment & Health

COP29 Ignores Militarism, Putting Meaningful Climate Deal Out of Reach

Politics & Elections

House Passes Chilling “Nonprofit Killer” Bill With 15 Democrats Voting “Yes”

Politics & Elections

We Must Contest the Christian Right’s Agenda in Every Venue of Our Lives

Politics & Elections

Senate Overwhelmingly Rejects Sanders Resolutions to Block Arms Sales to Israel
Related Stories
Israeli soldiers stand guard as trucks loaded with humanitarian aid delivered from Jordan wait to cross into Gaza on the border between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip, through the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing on October 21, 2024. (Photo taken during a controlled tour by the Israeli military.)

Human Rights

Aid Truck Looters in Gaza Operate Under Israeli Forces’ Protection, Reports Find

A UN memo last month reportedly found that pillagers “may be benefiting from” Israeli protection.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 19, 2024

Palestinians rush towards a column of smoke billowing following Israeli bombardment which hit a school complex, including the Hamama and al-Huda schools, in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in the north of Gaza City on August 3, 2024.

Human Rights

Dozens in North Gaza Dying Under Rubble as Israel Blocks Rescue Missions

Israeli forces are storming across north Gaza, killing people in front of their families or as they look for food.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 18, 2024

Journalists film while standing before destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on October 9, 2024.

Human Rights

Israel Targets, Injures One of the Only Journalists Left in North Gaza in Strike

Al Jazeera reporter Hossam Shabat had just arrived at a house that had been bombed when Israel struck it again.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 20, 2024

Latest Stories
Ambassador Majed Bamya, Deputy Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question at the UN headquarters on November 20, 2024, in New York City.

Human Rights

UN Palestine Representative Issues Powerful Rebuke of US Ceasefire Veto

“Do they have the right to kill, and the only right we have is to die?” the ambassador pleaded.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 21, 2024

A children's playground stands covered in dust amid the destruction in central Tyre caused by an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese port city.

Human Rights

UNICEF: Over 200 Children Killed in Lebanon Amid Israel’s Assault

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed numerous children every single day in the past week, UNICEF said.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 19, 2024

A member of the Israeli security forces walks past a bulldozer demolishing a house belonging to Palestinians, located in the area C, which lies under Israel's military control since 1967, in Yatta village in the southern area of the occupied West Bank, on November 6, 2024.

News 

Human Rights

Biden Admin Sanctions Israeli West Bank Settlers — But Not Leaders Arming Them

Democrats previously urged Biden to sanction top Israeli officials for their backing of violence in the West Bank.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 18, 2024

A protester holding a sign reading "PROTECT THE PROTEST" stands beside others, one with a sign in German, and another with a sign reading "OLAF, TELL JOE TO TELL BIBI TO STOP"

Politics & Elections

Germany and US Are in a Race to the Bottom on Suppressing Pro-Palestine Speech

Both countries are adding to the transnational toolkit used to crack down on activists speaking out against genocide.By Schuyler Mitchell , Truthout

November 18, 2024

Ben & Jerry's shop in Watkins Glen, New York.

Human Rights

Ben & Jerry’s Sues Parent Company for Silencing Support for Palestine

The lawsuit adds that Unilever rejected Ben & Jerry’s choice to make donations to Jewish Voice for Peace.By Joy Saha , Salon

November 16, 2024

House Financial Services Committee member Rep. Rashida Tlaib speaks in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 6, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

Human Rights

Tlaib: Blinken Must Resign Over Lies About Israel Blocking Humanitarian Aid

“The Biden administration cannot pick and choose when they comply with our own laws,” Tlaib said.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 15, 2024

Samia al-Atrash holds the corpse of one of her sister's children from the Khoder family, killed in an Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 21, 2023.

Human Rights

The World Saw Me Holding My Niece. Here’s How Israel Took Her From Me.

I’m trying to honor Masa and her family by helping people.By Samia Al-Atrash , Truthout

November 9, 2024

A boy stands by the railing inside a UN school-turned-refuge in the Al-Shati refugee camp near Gaza City, following a reported Israeli strike on October 19, 2024.

Human Rights

UNRWA: 67 Children Killed by Israeli Attacks on Average Each Day in Gaza

Children account for the single largest group of people killed by Israel.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 8, 2024

Children stare at the destruction following an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 7, 2024.

Human Rights

UN: 7 in 10 Killed in Gaza Are Women or Children, in “Grave Violations” of Law

Babies and toddlers aged 0 to 4 are among the most-represented age groups of those killed by Israel.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

November 8, 2024

Displaced Palestinians, ordered by the Israeli army to leave the school in Beit Lahia where they were sheltered, arrive in Gaza City on October 19, 2024.

Human Rights

North Gaza Conditions Are “Beyond Imagination,” UN Official Warns

Israeli forces have created conditions unfit for life and are forcing thousands of Palestinians to live through them.By Sharon Zhang , Truthout

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *