ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government on Thursday welcomed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s former defense minister Yoav Gallant for “committing war crimes” in Gaza, calling the move “courageous”.
“The Iraqi government appreciates the courageous and just stance taken by the International Criminal Court, by issuing two arrest warrants against the Prime Minister of the Zionist entity and its former Minister of Defense,” Iraqi government spokesperson Basem al-Awadi said in a statement, adding the ICC’s warrants were issued "based on an indictment that convicted them [Netanyahu and Gallant] of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, against the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.”
The ICC on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif for “crimes against humanity and war crimes.”
The ruling against Deif was issued for his involvement in the October 7, 2023 attack, while the decisions against Netanyahu and Gallant were issued for the Israeli government’s actions from at least October 8, 2023, until at least May 20, 2024.
The court said it found reasonable grounds that Netanyahu and Gallant each bear “criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” as co-perpetrators.
“The Chamber also found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population,” the statement added.
Iraqi government spokesperson Awadi hailed the arrest warrants as “historic” and said, "Justice and truth will…prevail in the world.”
"As we applaud this major step towards achieving justice in all parts of the world, we renew our calls to stop the war,” Awadi said, calling on the international community to help "implement this decision and hand over those wanted.”
Netanyahu and Gallant should "receive their punishment for the flagrant violations against humanity they have committed,” he added.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian Hamas launched the al-Aqsa Flood operation, an unprecedented aerial and ground attack into southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people.
In response, Israel launched a full-scale military aggression against Gaza which is still ongoing a year later. Over 44,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of the Israeli offensive.
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