PARIS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “now officially a wanted man” after the International Criminal Court’s decision Thursday to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli leader, Amnesty International said.
The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif “for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024”.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu is now officially a wanted man,” Amnesty Secretary General Agnes Callamard said in a statement.
“We urge all ICC member states, and non-states parties including the United States and other allies of Israel, to demonstrate their respect for the court’s decision… by arresting and handing over those wanted by the ICC,” Callamard added.
EU says ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant ‘binding’
“ICC member states and the whole international community must stop at nothing until these individuals are brought to trial before the ICC’s independent and impartial judges.”
The ICC’s move now theoretically limits their movements, as any of the court’s 124 national members would be obliged to arrest them on their territory.
Israel said in early August it had killed Deif in an air strike in southern Gaza in July, but Hamas has not confirmed his death.
Hamas conducted a stunning cross-border raid on Israel on October 7 last year that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel has since then been fighting a war in Gaza, which the group rules.
The Hamas government’s health ministry in the Gaza Strip said Thursday at least 44,056 people had been killed in more than 13 months of war.
Comments