ynetglobal By Matan Gutman
The ICC’s issuing of international arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of their responsibility for alleged “war crimes” in the Gaza Strip, raises several questions regarding jurisdiction, enforcement, international implications and practical consequences.
Is Israel subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC)? Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. However, under the statute, if an individual commits a war crime within the territory of a state party, the ICC has jurisdiction over them even if they’re a foreign national.
The Interational Criminal Court
The Palestinians joined the statute in 2014 as a member state, using this as a basis to extend its application to Israelis. In February 2021, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Division ruled by a majority that the ICC prosecutor has the authority to investigate alleged war crimes in Palestinian territories beyond the Green Line (the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem).
Who can issue an international arrest warrant on behalf of the ICC? The authority to issue an arrest warrant lies with the judges of the ICC’s Pre-Trial Division, following a request from the prosecutor. This requires a judicial process in which the judges review the preliminary evidence presented by the prosecutor.
An arrest warrant may be issued under the following conditions outlined in Article 58 of the Rome Statute:
There are reasonable grounds to believe the individual committed a crime within the court’s jurisdiction;
Arrest is necessary to ensure the individual’s appearance in court, prevent obstruction of the investigation or proceedings or prevent the ongoing crime or related offenses;
Issuing these warrants requires a judicial process before the Pre-Trial Division, which approved the prosecutor’s requests.
Who has previously faced ICC arrest warrants? Netanyahu and Gallant join a “notorious club” of dictators and war criminals subjected to ICC warrants, such as Sudan’s former President Omar al-Bashir, Libyan General Mahmoud al-Werfalli and Joseph Kony, leader of Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army, which abducted tens of thousands of children to serve as soldiers or sex slaves.
The most significant recent ICC arrest warrant was issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials for the abduction and deportation of children from Ukraine…
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