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ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Al-Masri

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, as well as Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.

The court has also rejected challenges brought by Israel to the court’s jurisdiction under the Rome Statute, which set up the ICC.

The warrants for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were issued for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed “from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024”, the court said.

The warrant against Al-Masri was issued for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the territories of Israel and Palestine from at least 7 October 2023.

Israel had said that it had killed Al-Masri in an air strike, but the ICC said that it was “not in a position” to determine whether he had been killed or remained alive.

‘International law applies’

The ICC said that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that, during the relevant time, international humanitarian law related to international armed conflict between Israel and Palestine applied.

It added that this was because the two were high contracting parties to the 1949 Geneva Convention, and because Israel occupied at least parts of Palestine.

The court also found that the law related to non-international armed conflict applied to the fighting between Israel and Hamas.