#icc arrest warrants

[agentfascinateur]

The US trying to interfere with an ongoing ICC investigation:

Netanyahu, who is extremely nervous about the possible arrest warrants, spoke to several Republican and Democratic senators in recent days and asked them to press the ICC prosecutor not to move forward with issuing arrest warrants.

[heritageposts]

Some updates from Al Jazeera's live feed (20 May, 2024):

On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin NETANYAHU, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav GALLANT, the Minister of Defence of Israel, bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023:

Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Statute;

Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health contrary to article 8(2)(a)(iii), or cruel treatment as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);

Wilful killing contrary to article 8(2)(a)(i), or Murder as a war crime contrary to article 8(2)(c)(i);

Intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime contrary to articles 8(2)(b)(i), or 8(2)(e)(i);

Extermination and/or murder contrary to articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(a), including in the context of deaths caused by starvation, as a crime against humanity;

Persecution as a crime against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(h);

Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity contrary to article 7(1)(k).

[sofiaflorina2021]

To be honest, I am happy with the issuance of the arrest warrant by the ICC for the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.

[immaculatasknight]

The clock is ticking

[themilfking]

do you think anything will come if the ICC arrest warrants?

Immediately? Probably not.

But there is def impact here.

Their (Netanyahu and Gallant's) international mobility just took a massive hit. There are 124 member states that have to abide by the ICC's ruling here. I'm really curious to see which members come forward the quickest.

More importantly I think the impact this is going to have on the broader political landscape is super interesting. Israel doesn't recognize ICC jurisdiction and it's attempt to delegitimize them is gonna hurt relationships with many of the 124 member states that do.

Charles Taylor, Al-Bashir, Karadzic, and Bemba all had warrants issued by the ICC and it took years before anything came of them. So yeah I'm hopeful something will come of this but doubt it'll be anytime soon

[girlactionfigure]

[athena5898]

(Quds) The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain welcomed the ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant, calling it a first step to ending decades of impunity for Israeli leaders, supported by the U.S. and others.

The organization urged the ICC prosecutor to request Interpol, under a 2004 agreement, to issue red notices for the suspects, obligating 195 member states to arrest them if they travel there.

The decision counters the narrative that Israel’s actions are “self-defense.” While many countries pledged to comply, the U.S., not an ICC member, opposed the warrants.

[nando161mando]

ICC issues arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.

[agentfascinateur]

86 House Democrats say there is evidence Israel is failing to comply with the US Foreign Assistance Act

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democratic-lawmakers-tell-biden-evidence-shows-israel-is-restricting-gaza-aid-2024-05-03/

But Schumer is still inviting Netanyahu to address Congress 🤦🏻‍♀️

[offtherecordvibes]

[huariqueje]

A Panel of Experts in International Law convened by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan KC, today announced its conclusions. The Panel was established at the Prosecutor’s request in support of his investigation into the ‘Situation in the State of Palestine’, which covers international crimes committed either on the territory of Palestine or by a Palestinian national. The Panel’s mandate was to advise the Prosecutor on whether his applications for arrest warrants met the standard provided in Article 58 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Panel members unanimously endorsed the Prosecutor’s assessment that the Court had jurisdiction over the case and that there were ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ that individuals named in the arrest warrants — including senior leaders of Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the Court.

-Amal Clooney and Marko Milanovic

[readingsquotes]

"When the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) announced he was seeking arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders, he issued a cryptic warning: “I insist that all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence the officials of this court must cease immediately.”

...Now, an investigation by the Guardian and the Israeli-based magazines +972 and Local Call can reveal how Israel has run an almost decade-long secret “war” against the court. The country deployed its intelligence agencies to surveil, hack, pressure, smear and allegedly threaten senior ICC staff in an effort to derail the court’s inquiries.

Israeli intelligence captured the communications of numerous ICC officials, including Khan and his predecessor as prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, intercepting phone calls, messages, emails and documents.

..

Since it was established in 2002, the ICC has served as a permanent court of last resort for the prosecution of individuals accused of some of the world’s worst atrocities. It has charged the former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, the late Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi and most recently, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

Khan’s decision to seek warrants against Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, along with Hamas leaders implicated in the 7 October attack, marks the first time an ICC prosecutor has sought arrest warrants against the leader of a close western ally.

The allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity that Khan has levelled against Netanyahu and Gallant all relate to Israel’s eight-month war in Gaza, which according to the territory’s health authority has killed more than 35,000 people.

...

Hacked emails and monitored calls

Five sources familiar with Israel’s intelligence activities said it routinely spied on the phone calls made by Bensouda and her staff with Palestinians. Blocked by Israel from accessing Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the ICC was forced to conduct much of its research by telephone, which made it more susceptible to surveillance.

Thanks to their comprehensive access to Palestinian telecoms infrastructure, the sources said, intelligence operatives could capture the calls without installing spyware on the ICC official’s devices.

“If Fatou Bensouda spoke to any person in the West Bank or Gaza, then that phone call would enter [intercept] systems,” one source said. Another said there was no hesitation internally over spying on the prosecutor, adding: “With Bensouda, she’s black and African, so who cares?”. ......

One of the sources said the Shin Bet even installed Pegasus spyware, developed by the private-sector NSO Group, on the phones of multiple Palestinian NGO employees, as well as two senior Palestinian Authority officials.

Keeping tabs on the Palestinian submissions to the ICC’s inquiry was viewed as part of the Shin Bet’s mandate, but some army officials were concerned that spying on a foreign civilian entity crossed a line, as it had little to do with military operations.

“It has nothing to do with Hamas, it has nothing to do with stability in the West Bank,” one military source said of the ICC surveillance. Another added: “We used our resources to spy on Fatou Bensouda – this isn’t something legitimate to do as military intelligence.”

...

Three sources briefed on Cohen’s activities said they understood the spy chief had tried to recruit Bensouda into complying with Israel’s demands during the period in which she was waiting for a ruling from the pre-trial chamber.

They said he became more threatening after he began to realise the prosecutor would not be persuaded to abandon the investigation. At one stage, Cohen is said to have made comments about Bensouda’s security and thinly veiled threats about the consequences for her career if she proceeded.

[cavalierzee]

Antisemitic Decision?

[muddypolitics]

(via ICC issues arrest warrants for Israel's Netanyahu, Gallant for alleged Gaza war crimes)

A pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza.

It is the first time the ICC has issued arrest warrants against a major U.S. ally, as well as the first time it has issued warrants for the leader of a democratic country.

[hungriestofbears]

I'll take the ICC seriously whenever they convict Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, and the Ayatollah for their crimes against humanity