A Request for ICC Arrest Warrants and the Israel-Hamas War

On Monday, May 20, International Criminal Court head Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he has submitted an application to the Court’s judges to issue arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the Minister of Defence of Israel, and three Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The allegations are extensive, as discussed in a lengthy statement released by the Prosecutor, although the application itself is not yet public.  

The decision has major implications for the devastating conflict still raging in Gaza; and for how the Court interacts with nations across the world. In Washington, the arrest warrants are certain to threaten recent increased cooperation with the Court, and efforts to prosecute Russian officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine could also be jeopardized. 

Joining the show to discuss Khan’s request and its potential consequences are Todd Buchwald, Tom Dannenbaum, and Rebecca Hamilton. 

Todd formerly served as Ambassador and Special Coordinator for the State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice. Tom is an Associate Professor of International Law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he is also Co-Director of the Center for International Law and Governance. Rebecca is a law professor at American University and an Executive Editor at Just Security.

Show Notes:

• Tess Bridgeman (@bridgewriter)
• Todd Buchwald
• Tom Dannenbaum (@tomdannenbaum) 
• Rebecca Hamilton (@bechamilton) 
• Paras Shah (@pshah518) 
• Just Security’s Symposium “The International Criminal Court and Israel-Hamas War”
• Tom’s Just Security article “Nuts & Bolts of Int’l Criminal Court Arrest Warrant Applications for Senior Israeli Officials and Hamas Leaders” 
• Rebecca, Tess, and Ryan Goodman’s article “Timeline of Int’l Crim Court Arrest Warrants for Gaza War: What Comes Next and How We Got Here” 
• Just Security’s Gaza coverage
• Just Security’s International Criminal Court coverage
• Music: “Broken” by David Bullard from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/david-bullard/broken (License code: OSC7K3LCPSGXISVI)