World reacts to ICC arrest warrants

The Palestinian State has hailed the ICC's arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, while Israel and the US have called the ruling "anti-Semitic" and "troubling," respectively.

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued warrants for the arrest of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, its former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (also known as Mohammed Deif), despite conflicting reports of his death in Gaza. 

The judges said there were “reasonable grounds” the three men bore "criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war between Israel and Hamas. 

Israel rejects the ICC's jurisdiction, but the court ruled in 2021 that it had jurisdiction over the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza because the UN’s secretary general had accepted the Palestinians were a member. The ICC on Thursday said it does not require Israel's acceptance of its jurisdiction.

"Today is a dark day in the history of humanity, the international court in The Hague which was invented in order to protect humanity has become today the enemy of humanity", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media platform X, adding that he expects countries not to support the ICC's decision. 

"It's an antisemitic step that has one goal - to deter me, to deter us from having our natural right to defend ourselves against enemies who try to destroy us."

The Palestinian Authority, however, welcomed the decision and urged members of the court to implement it, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Hamas in an official statement said, "We call on the International Criminal Court to expand the scope of accountability to all criminal occupation leaders." The group did not comment on the warrant out for Deif. 

White House National Security Council spokesperson: “The United States fundamentally rejects the Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials. We remain deeply concerned by the Prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision." 

Technically, if either of them set foot in any ICC member state they must be arrested and handed over to the court, however, members do not always choose to enforce warrants.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the ICC warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant are not political and that all EU  member states should respect the court decision and implement it. All EU countries have ratified the Rome Statute treaty. 

The Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy, and Spain all said they would meet their commitments and obligations regarding the Rome Statute and International Law. Austria said the same, though its Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg added that the warrant was absurd.

"These actions mark a significant step towards justice for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Palestine," South Africa, which has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), said.

Human Rights Watch called the arrest warrants a "break through the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law. This is all the more important given the brazen attempts to obstruct the course of justice at the court."

Last May, the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan sought warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, Deif and two other Hamas leaders who have since been killed- Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar.

Although Israel believes Deif is dead, the chamber said it had been notified by the ICC prosecution that it was not in a position to determine whether he was killed or remained alive.