International Criminal Court Seeks Arrest Warrants for Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
In a bold move, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is pushing for arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. These charges are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from the October 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. The court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, revealed this exclusive information to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in a recent interview.
The ICC is also seeking warrants for Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as two other top Hamas leaders – Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. This marks the first time the ICC has targeted the top leader of a close ally of the United States, putting Netanyahu in a similar position as Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also faced an ICC arrest warrant.
A panel of ICC judges will now review Khan’s application for the arrest warrants, which include charges of “extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape, and sexual assault in detention” against Sinwar, Haniyeh, and al-Masri.
Khan highlighted the shocking events of October 7, emphasizing the suffering of those affected by the attacks. The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include causing extermination, starvation as a method of war, and deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.
Netanyahu previously denounced the possibility of ICC arrest warrants, calling it an “outrage of historic proportions.” However, Khan asserted that “nobody is above the law” and encouraged Israel to challenge the jurisdiction before the court’s judges.
Despite not being ICC members, both Israel and the United States are subject to the court’s jurisdiction over Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank following Palestinian leaders’ agreement to adhere to the ICC’s founding principles in 2015. – CNN
