he International Criminal Court issued an order on November 21, through which it required all its member states (presently 124 in number) to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former minister of Israeli government if found in the territory of any of the member states and hand them over to the ICC for the purposes of investigation and a possible trial if found responsible for the crimes alleged against them.

The ICC, like the United Nations, is a treaty Organisation established through the Rome Statute of the International Court of Justice (the Statute). The treaty came into effect in 2002. According to Article 1 of the Statute:

“The International Criminal Court (the Court) is hereby established. It shall be a permanent institution and shall have the power to exercise its jurisdiction over persons for the most serious crimes of international concern as referred to in this Statute, and shall be complementary to national criminal jurisdiction.”

The offences it is authorised to try and punish are described in Article 5 of the Statute: the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crimes of aggression. These crimes are fully described in the next four articles of the Statute.

In May 2024, the chief prosecutor of the ICC sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” perpetrated in Gaza. The arrest warrants were sought pursuant to a referral on the situation in the state of Palestine filed by South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Chile and United Mexican States. The arrest warrants that have been issued are classified as “secret” in order to protect witnesses and safeguard the conduct of the investigations.

In its official statement regarding the issuance of the arrest warrants, the ICC chamber narrated the details of acts amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Benjamin Netanyahu as follows:

“The Chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity, from at least 8 October 2023 to 20 May 2024. The Chamber also noted that decisions allowing or increasing humanitarian assistance into Gaza were often conditional. They were not made to fulfill Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law or to ensure that the civilian population in Gaza would be adequately supplied with goods in need. The Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that no clear military need or other justification under international humanitarian law could be identified for the restrictions placed on access for humanitarian relief operations. By intentionally limiting or preventing medical supplies and medicine from getting into Gaza, in particular anesthetics and anesthesia machines, the two individuals are also responsible for inflicting great suffering by means of inhumane acts on persons in need of treatment. It (Chamber) therefore found that the crime against humanity of persecution was committed. The Chamber found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the lack of food, water, electricity and fuel, and specific medical supplies, created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza, which resulted in the death of civilians, including children, due to malnutrition and dehydration. The Chamber also found reasonable grounds to believe that the abovementioned conduct deprived a significant portion of the civilian population in Gaza of their fundamental rights, including the rights to life and health, and that the population was targeted based on political and/ or national grounds. The Chamber therefore found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu bears criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.”

In May 2024, the chief prosecutor of the ICC sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” perpetrated in Gaza. The warrants were sought pursuant to a referral on the Situation in the State of Palestine filed by South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Chile and United Mexican States. 

These findings are based on the examination of extensive and voluminous evidence present before the ICC. The ICC issued the arrest warrants after it was satisfied that “reasonable grounds” existed that Netanyahu should be caused to be arrested for the purposes of further investigation.

Though the evidence presented before the ICC is not before us, there is a great quantity of reliable evidence otherwise available that strongly suggests Benjamin Netanyahu is liable to be arrested for further investigations on the allegations made against him:

A. Evidence provided by Israeli Soldiers: Al-Jazeera reports: “Israeli soldiers have posted thousands of videos and photos on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. These videos and photos form the foundation of the I-Unit’s new film, which investigates Israeli war crimes primarily through the medium of the evidence Israeli soldiers themselves have provided.” Rodney Dixon, an international law expert, has described this evidence as a treasure trove which one very rarely comes across. According to Al-Jazeera, “Most of the photos and videos fell into one of three categories: wanton destruction; the mistreatment of detainees; and the use of human shields. All three may be violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”

B. Findings of the UN Human Rights Commission: Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, in its detailed report dated June 10, titled Detailed Findings on the Military Operations and Attacks Carried Out in the Occupied Palestinian Territory from October 7 to December 31, 2023, has extensively reported Israeli atrocities which support the issuance of the arrest warrant by the ICC.

C. Reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International: Both organisations have reported that Israel has gravely violated international law and committed war crimes and crimes against humanity on a large scale against Palestinians in a one-sided war that has now gone on for over a year.

The world opinion has welcomed the issuance of the arrest warrant against Netanyahu, though the US president has called it “preposterous.” Several countries, including Belgium, Canada, France, Iran, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey and South Africa have, in their official statements, said that the warrant is binding and they will carry out their responsibilities under the Rome Statute.

The writer is an advocate of the Supreme Court and a former minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs. He is the founder of Research Society of International Law, a think-tank and research and policy institution.