ICC warrant requests for Israeli and Hamas leaders: What happens now?

How the International Criminal Court's push to arrest the men deemed responsible for the war in Gaza could play out

Photo composite of (L-R) Benjamin Netanyahu, Karim Khan and Yahya Sinwar against the ICC building
If the warrants are issued, "tricky diplomatic questions may ensue" — particularly in Europe, home to some of the ICC's most fervently supportive nations
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Shutterstock / Getty Images)

This week, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan announced his office had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three top Hamas officials, including leader Yahya Sinwar. The ICC alleged that each had perpetrated various forms of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the months-long war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. "Those who do not comply with the law should not complain later when my Office takes action," Khan stressed in a statement accompanying his allegations. "That day has come."

Reaction to Khan's announcement was swift and predictably controversial, with both Israeli and Hamas leadership bristling at what they each deemed the implied equivalency between their respective conduct — a sentiment echoed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who also claimed the ICC has "no jurisdiction over this matter." Crucially, neither the United States nor Israel are signatories to the ICC's founding Rome Statute, which defines the international body's authority over member nations. 

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.