The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the October 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, according to an exclusive interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan.
Key Points:
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The ICC is also seeking warrants for Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as two other top Hamas leaders — Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, the leader of the Al Qassem Brigades who is better known as Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ political leader.
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This marks the first time the ICC has targeted the top leader of a close ally of the United States, placing Netanyahu in the company of other leaders facing ICC arrest warrants.
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A panel of ICC judges will now consider Khan’s application for the arrest warrants.
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The charges against Sinwar, Haniyeh, and al-Masri include “extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention.”
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The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”
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Israel and the United States are not members of the ICC, but the court claims to have jurisdiction over Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank.
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The ICC announcement is separate from the case being heard by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over accusations from South Africa that Israel is committing genocide in its war against Hamas.
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Israel’s forces have pushed into parts of a congested northern Gaza Strip district, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians.
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Israeli troops and tanks have also taken over some ground in Rafah, a southern city by the Egyptian border.
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Benny Gantz, a centrist member of the Israeli war cabinet, has threatened to resign if Netanyahu does not agree to a post-war plan by June 8.
Sources:
www.cnn.com/2024/05/20/middleeast/icc-israel-hamas-arrest-warrant-war-crimes-intl/index.html
uk.news.yahoo.com/dozens-killed-wounded-israeli-forces-142236689.html?guccounter=1
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