Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's arrest warrant issued

AMSTERDAM: International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for alleged war crimes.

Judges at the International Criminal Court have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief Gallant, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The move comes after the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20, that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes connected to the Oct.7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas and the Israeli military response in Gaza.

The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required. Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza.

Israel has said it killed Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in airstrike but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had dismissed Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over a breakdown in trust during the Gaza war against Hamas.

The two have frequently clashed over Israel’s retaliatory military offensive against Hamas following the Palestinian militant group’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7 last year.

“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust between the prime minister and the defence minister is required,” Netanyahu had said in a statement issued by his office.

“Although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and very productive work, over the past few months that trust has eroded,” he added of his Likud party colleague.

Netanyahu had appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz as the new defence minister, saying he had “already proven his abilities and his contribution to national security”.