ANIC Welcomes the ICC Application for Arrest Warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defence of Israel Yoav Gallant

ANIC Welcomes the ICC Application for Arrest Warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defence of Israel Yoav Gallant into War Crimes in Palestine.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said on Monday that his office had applied for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders for alleged war crimes committed post-October 7th and the war on Gaza.

Mr Khan announced his office had “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant bear “criminal responsibility” for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

The Prosecutor indicated that more charges are likely, given the ongoing investigation into Israel’s widespread attacks, killings and humanitarian crisis; these include “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as a war crime…intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population [and] extermination and/or murder”

Evidence shows that “Israel has intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival” and that these “crimes against humanity” were committed “pursuant to State policy” (Statement of ICC Prosecutor, 20 May 2024).

These charges also support South Africa’s genocide case against Israel that was brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 29 December 2023 regarding Israel’s conduct, war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip.

More than 35,500 Palestinians have since been killed, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and over 79,600 others injured; over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced, and the entire city turned to rubble, by the occupying Israeli defence force led by Netanyahu and Gallant, since last October.

We urge the Australian Government to:

1. Immediately cut all military ties with Israel.
2. Place sanctions on Israel and its top leaders.
3. Support the ICC Application for Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant and support the ICJ South African case against Israel
4. Condemn the barbaric actions, genocide and war crimes committed by Israel.