World reacts to ICC arrest warrants for Israel’s Netanyahu, Gallant
Al Jazeera
The ICC said it had found ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe that the Israeli officials were responsible for starvation in Gaza.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged “war crimes”.
The court said on Thursday that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival”.
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif for alleged “crimes against humanity and war crimes”. Israel said in August that Deif was killed in an air strike in southern Gaza.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan first applied for the warrants six months ago. In August, Khan called on the court to make a decision, saying, “Any unjustified delay in these proceedings detrimentally affects the rights of victims.”
Since the decision was announced, Israeli officials have slammed the warrants, with Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev referring to them as “modern anti-Semitism in the guise of justice”.