The United States, Israel’s closest ally, continues to back it, as do other Western nations who voiced opposition to the move.
On May 21, Israel made an effort to minimize the reaction to a request for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas officials made by the head prosecutor of the world’s top war crimes court. Three European nations, including France, supported this action.
Following the decision made by International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, which accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders—Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh—of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel, Belgium, Slovenia, and France announced on Monday that they supported the prosecution.
Even if no one is in danger of being arrested right now, the declaration further isolates Israel on the international scene at a time when even its closest friends are criticizing it more and more for the Gaza War. Three European Union nations’ support for the warrants also reveals differences in the West’s stance toward Israel.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz left for France on Tuesday. Based on his talks there, other nations may decide how to handle the warrants, should they be granted, and whether or not they could endanger Israeli leaders.
Along with other Western nations that voiced opposition to the decision, Israel continues to enjoy the support of its foremost ally, the United States. Although there is no immediate threat of prosecution for Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant because Israel is not a member of the court, the issuance of the warrants could make it more difficult for them to go abroad.
Violence in the area persisted as Israeli commanders processed the prosecutor’s ruling; Palestinian health officials said that an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank killed at least seven Palestinians, including a local doctor.
France declared on Monday night that it “supports the International Criminal Court, its independence, and the fight against impunity in all situations” in a statement regarding the warrant requests.
The statement from France, which has a sizable Jewish population and strong commercial and diplomatic ties to Israel, stated that “France has been warning for many months about the imperative of strict compliance with international humanitarian law and in particular about the unacceptable nature of civilian losses in the Gaza Strip and insufficient humanitarian access.”
On October 7, terrorists led by Hamas entered Israel, killing some 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and capturing 250 others as captives, sparking the start of the conflict. Mr. Khan charged sexual assault, murder, and extermination as crimes against humanity committed by the leaders of Hamas.
Following that, Israel launched an attack that, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry—which does not differentiate between fighters and noncombatants in its tally—has killed over 35,000 Palestinians. A large portion of the coastal enclave’s people has been forced to flee their homes due to the humanitarian situation brought on by the war, which Mr. Khan claimed Israel was using as a “method of warfare.”
In a post on social media on Monday, Hadja Lahbib, the foreign minister of Belgium, stated that “crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators.”
The prosecutor’s action was denounced by Mr. Netanyahu and other Israeli officials as being shameful and antisemitic. Additionally, US President Joe Biden chastised the prosecutor and defended Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas. Czech Republic, an ally of Israel, described Mr. Khan’s decision as “appalling and completely unacceptable,” while the United Kingdom labeled the action as “not helpful” and stated that the International Criminal Court lacked jurisdiction over the matter.
Whether to issue the arrest warrants and allow the case to proceed will be decided by a panel of three judges. It usually takes the courts two months to decide on these matters.
Analysts cautioned that the issuance of any warrants may strain ties between Israel and even allies who disapproved of the action.
Former senior official in Israel’s Justice Ministry Yuval Kaplinsky stated that nations who are parties to the case would have to arrest Mr. Netanyahu or Mr. Gallant should they come, but he added that some of those nations might be able to circumvent that by finding legal ways around it.
Mr. Kaplinsky stated, “They would rather (that) Netanyahu does not visit rather than have him visit in London and have everyone watch him avoid extradition.”
Violence has also flared up in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war.
At least seven Palestinians were killed on Tuesday in an Israeli raid into the Jenin refugee camp and the nearby city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group claimed that its fighters engaged Israeli forces in combat, while the military claimed that its forces hit militants during the operation.
But according to Jenin Governmental Hospital director Wissam Abu Baker, one of the deceased was Ossayed Kamal Jabareen, the surgical specialist at the facility. Abu Baker claimed that he was killed his route to work.
Long before Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza started, Israeli raids frequently targeted Jenin and the refugee camp, which was viewed as a hub of militancy.
Nearly 500 Palestinians have lost their lives in fighting in the West Bank since the beginning of the conflict, many of them were militants who also threw explosives or stones at military personnel. There have also been deaths of people who were not engaged in the altercations.
Israel claims that it is stepping up its crackdown on the rising militancy in the region, citing an increase in Palestinian attacks on its citizens. More than 3,000 Palestinians have been detained by it since the Gaza conflict began.
During the 1967 Mideast War, Israel won the West Bank, East Jerusalem, which it later annexed, and the Gaza Strip, from which it withdrew inhabitants and troops in 2005. The Palestinians aim to incorporate those lands into their future independent state, although since the Gaza conflict broke out, their ambitions have been dashed.
