There is another warrant from the ICC, on the same basis, against Mohammed Deif, the leader of the armed wing of Hamas, who carried out a bloody attack on Israeli soil, on October 7, 2023, after military attacks in the Gaza Strip, which have been ongoing ever since. destroyed by massive bombing.
“No scandalous anti-Israel decision will stop us – and especially me – from continuing to defend our country, in any way.”, Benjamin Netanyahu assured his fellow citizens, in a message on Thursday night.
“Oh The International Criminal Court in The Hague, established to protect humanity, has turned into an enemy of humanity. This biased court decided to issue arrest warrants against me and against me and former minister Yoav Gallant, with a baseless accusation that he allegedly committed crimes against humanity, when the truth reveals the opposite”, according to with the Prime Minister of Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu, a ICC decision “It is moral bankruptcy” and it affects the natural right of democracies to defend themselves against savage terror. The same court that now accuses us of fake crimes, ignores the real war crimes,the terrible crimes committed against us.”
The Israeli leader criticized the decision as “anti-Semitic” and said he was a new victim. Dreyfus trialnamed after a French captain of Jewish origin who was convicted of espionage in the late 19th century, before being freed and rehabilitated.
Yoav Gallant considered it a ”dangerous precedent” that “encourages terrorism”, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned it as a “dark day for justice” and “humanity”.
The Palestinian Authority, for its part, welcomed the “sign of hope”.
Joe Biden also described it as “scandalous”, this decision restricts the movements of the two Israeli leaders. Any of the court’s 124 member states would theoretically be obliged to arrest them if they entered its territory, although many countries, including Russia, the United States and China, do not recognize jurisdiction of the ICC.
The radical Palestinian movement welcomed the indictment of the Israeli leaders as an “important step towards justice”, not to mention the arrest warrant announced simultaneously for their military leader.
Allegations of the ICC
The arrest warrants issued by the ICC are “unprecedented, unjustified and overdue,” said war crimes lawyer Reed Brody.
The International Criminal Court said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant are “criminally responsible” for the war crime. of starvation as a means of war, as well as crimes against humanity murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
According to the ICC, two men ”knowingly and knowingly taking things necessary for their survival from the civilian population of Gaza”especially food, water, medicines, fuel and electricity.
Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the ICC, the body responsible for prosecuting and trying individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Founded in 2002, the institute currently has 124 member states.
This situation created “living conditions designed to encourage the destruction of part of the civilian population of Gaza”, explained the ICC, which considered, however, that ”the elements of the crime against humanity of extermination” were not present.
Another arrest warrant was issued for Mohammed Deif, despite the fact that he was killed, according to Israel, in an attack on July 13 in southern Gaza. Hamas denies his death.
“This means that the voices of the victims are being heard,” said Yael Vias Gvirsman, who represents the families of 300 Israeli victims of the October 7 Hamas attack.
At least 44,056 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli military attacks against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to figures from the Health Ministry of the Hamas government, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
On October 7, Hamas commandos carried out an unprecedented attack on Israeli territory, which caused the death of 1,205 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
Israel claims to have killed five Hamas fighters in Beit Lahia
The Israeli army announced this Friday that it killed five fighters from the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas, including two commanders, during their attack in the area of Beit Lahia, in the north of the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday night.
In a statement, the army and the Shin Bet (internal secret services) said they had “killed five Hamas terrorists, including the commander of the Noukhba company and another commander of this company”.The Israeli army identified the two dead commanders as Jihad Mahmoud Yehia Kahlout and Muhammad Riyad Ali Okel, “two terrorists who ordered the invasion of Israeli territory on October 7 and ordered the mass shooting and kidnapping on the Mefalsim road”.
These two men were responsible, on October 7, 2023, for “murders and kidnappings in the Mefalsim area”, one of the kibbutzes targeted in the unprecedented attack by the Islamic movement in southern Israel, according to the statement.
On Wednesday night, an attack in the area of Beit Lahia and Jabalia (to the north) left dozens dead and missing, according to Palestinian medical sources.
“These are two terrorists who were among the leaders of the fight in the northern Gaza Strip against Israeli army soldiers during the current operation in the region,” the army declared.
Claiming that they wanted to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping and reinforcing themselves in the area, the Israeli army launched a new and important offensive in the north of the Gaza Strip at the beginning of October, which resulted in more than a thousand deaths already, according. the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health.
On the other side of the Israeli attack, this Friday, attacks by Tel Aviv forces targeted the suburbs of the Lebanese capital, a stronghold of the Lebanese Hezbollah, after Israel requested an evacuation, according to images from AFPTV.
In addition to the suburbs of Beirut, the Israeli army had requested the evacuation of several areas in southern Lebanon overnight.
On Thursday, Israeli attacks in the Bekaa Valley, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the east of the country, left 40 dead, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
At the end of the evening, the Ministry announced that twelve people had been killed and 50 injured in attacks in the south of the country.
The National News Agency (ANI) counted 12 attacks in Beirut’s southern suburbs, some of which were “very violent”, with the Israeli army claiming to have attacked Hezbollah’s command centers and infrastructure.
The attacks were preceded by calls from the Israeli army to evacuate certain neighborhoods.
AFPTV images showed thick columns of smoke over the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, abandoned by many of its residents due to the daily attacks that have targeted them since late September.
Attacks by “Israel’s enemies” in five areas of the Baalbeck region (East) cost the lives of 22 people, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported.
According to ANI, an attack on Makneh village, in this region, caused the death of at least four members of the same family.
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What are the implications of the ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders on the ongoing Rael-Palestine conflict?
Rael-Palestine conflict, tensions remain high as both sides respond to recent developments. Following the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) unprecedented issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, strong reactions have emerged. Netanyahu criticized the ICC’s decision, labeling it as “moral bankruptcy” and accusing the court of ignoring genuine war crimes while targeting Israel. He likened the situation to historical anti-Semitic cases, drawing parallels to the Dreyfus trial in the late 19th century.
Israeli leaders, including President Isaac Herzog, have also condemned the court’s actions, describing it as a dark day for justice and claiming it encourages terrorism. In contrast, the Palestinian Authority celebrated the announcement as a “sign of hope” for justice. U.S. President Joe Biden labeled the ICC decision as “scandalous,” emphasizing the implications it has on the movements of Israeli leaders, as the court’s 124 member states would theoretically be bound to arrest them if they stepped into their territories.
The ICC asserts there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for war crimes related to starvation and crimes against humanity, specifically in relation to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In their context, the court alleged that both men knowingly deprived civilians of essential resources, creating conditions that could be construed as extermination, although not explicitly classified as such.
This situation was compounded by reports from Gaza, where at least 44,056 Palestinians have reportedly died due to Israeli military actions, as a response following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7, which led to the deaths of over 1,200 Israelis.
In the current military operations, the Israeli army has killed several Hamas fighters, including key commanders identified as responsible for orchestrating attacks against Israel. Amidst the ongoing conflict, the humanitarian conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate, drawing international concern and calls for resolution.