ICC Executes Its Warrant on Netanyahu and Gallant Relating to War Crimes At Gaza. What it Means for Israel
The International Criminal Court issues a series of warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza. The move raises important international legal concerns for the two leading figures in Israel, who now risk both proceedings because of their travels to countries signing up to the Rome Statute.
The Rome Statute was adopted in 1998, and it came into effect in 2002, establishing the ICC to try individuals for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. From its inception, the ICC has had the objective of bringing perpetrators of such acts to account through justice while reparation for the victims is done. In theory, countries that ratified the Rome Statute are legally obliged to cooperate with the court, so Netanyahu and Gallant's travel plans may potentially be affected in some jurisdictions.
The Netherlands, for instance, has promised to respect ICC warrants of arrest without caveat. If Netanyahu were ever to visit the country, the police would be duty-bound to apprehend him. Similarly, although the UK is currently a main member of the ICC, it is still uncertain whether the UK will enforce the arrest warrant against Netanyahu. However, since Netanyahu will not travel without challenging legal enforcement to any of the ICC member states, his presence in the US and Russia, which are not members of the ICC, is likely not affected at all.
The ICC’s actions come at a time when Israel is facing global scrutiny over its military operations in Gaza. This legal move could lead to further diplomatic tensions between Israel and the international community. However, the court’s ability to enforce these arrest warrants is a key question, as several powerful nations—including the US, Russia, and Israel itself—are not signatories to the Rome Statute.
Some countries have actually promised to enforce the ICC rulings, while others are still reluctant in their reaction to arrest warrants. The difficulties of enforcing uniformly may call into question whether the ICC is indeed capable of contributing to world leaders being held accountable for very grave international crimes such as war crimes. Nevertheless, the fact that the work of the ICC to inquire into international crimes would be largely indispensable to actual justice still only offers hope for much greater effects.