The International Criminal Court has requested an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of committing war crimes.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court explained that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Israeli Prime Minister bears criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The court also requested the issuance of an arrest warrant against Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant on charges of committing war crimes.

He pointed out that the charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include "causing genocide, causing famine as a means of war, including preventing humanitarian relief supplies, and deliberately targeting civilians in conflict."

3 leaders from Hamas

The court's prosecutor, Karim Khan, said in an interview with the American CNN network that he would issue arrest warrants against three Hamas leaders, the leader of the movement in Gaza, Yahya Al-Sinwar, in addition to two others, namely Muhammad Diab Ibrahim Al-Masry, commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, known as Muhammad Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, the movement's political leader.

It is noteworthy that Israel and the United States are not members of the International Criminal Court. However, the ICC claims to have jurisdiction over Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank after Palestinian leaders formally agreed to abide by the court's founding principles in 2015.

What are the powers of the court?

The International Criminal Court is an independent judicial body that has jurisdiction over persons accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

During the recent period, the court issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president on the grounds that he was responsible for war crimes. This is a last resort, as it only intervenes when the national authorities are unable or do not want to stop the crimes in the first place.

The International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda tried individuals for crimes against humanity, but only those committed in those countries during a specific period.

However, the court does not have its own police force to track down and arrest suspects. Instead, it must rely on national police services to make arrests and seek their transfer to The Hague.

Are there time limits on its jurisdiction?

In contrast, the Court has no retrospective jurisdiction – it can only deal with crimes committed after 1 July 2002 when the Rome Statute came into force.

In addition, the Court has automatic jurisdiction only over crimes committed on the territory of a State that has ratified the treaty; Or by a national of that State or when the United Nations Security Council refers a case to it.

Source: Al Arabiya Channel