On Thursday November 21 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber unanimously issued two decisions rejecting challenges by Israel and issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Minister of “Defence”, Yoav Gallant.

On May 20, 2024, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC had submitted applications for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant before the Pre-Trial Chamber I. Six months after this submission, and more than a year after the beginning of the genocide, Addameer welcomes the issuance of the arrest warrant, despite the effort by Israel to pressure the Court and the main Palestinian organizations working on documenting core international crimes in occupied Palestine.

The judge of the Pre-Trial Chamber I have found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both Netanyahu and Gallant have committed the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare, and crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts, as direct perpetrators, acting jointly with others; and the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against civilians, as civilian superiors.

This decision sends a clear message to victims and survivors of atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation army that, while international law and its institutions have failed Palestinian victims for the past decades, this decision is a chance to prove it stands with its fundamental commitment that the lives of all human beings have equal value and provide meaningful justice for the crimes committed in occupied Palestine. Similarly to the Office of the Prosecutor, Addameer calls all States party to the Rome Statute to respect and comply with these judicial orders, respect their legal obligations under international law and implement the arrest warrants issued by the ICC.

Yet, many crimes that have been committed by Netanyahu and Gallant as direct perpetrators or as civilian superiors remain missing, in particular crimes committed against Palestinian prisoners and detainees, reinforcing the cycle of impunity and abuse. Since October 7, 2023, Addameer documented a dramatic increase in the number of arbitrary arrests and detentions, the use and intensity of violence, and the gravity of the crimes committed against Palestinian detainees. From October 7th 2023 until October 31 2024, more than 11,600  Palestinians were arrested, and the number of Palestinians detained went from over 5,000 to 10,100. At least 43  detainees have been killed or died in occupation prisons since October 7^th, notably due to torture. Addameer documented a drastic increase in the crimes committed against Palestinian detainees since October 7, 2023 during their arrest, transfers, detention, interrogation and trials, notably beatings, rapes and other forms of sexual assaults, forced nudity, inhumane detention conditions, starvation, incommunicado detention, detention without trials or charges, prosecution in military courts, death in custody, which are very likely to amount to war crimes (Articles 8-2-a-i,ii,iii,vi,vii and 8-2-b-xxi, xxii of the Rome Statute) and crimes against humanity (Articles 7-1-a, d, e,f,k,g,i,h of the Rome Statute).

Addameer is also worried that, while the Prosecutor stated that his office remains open to the principle of “complementarity”, the Israeli occupation state is, and has proven to be, over the past decades, unwilling to genuinely carry out any investigation or prosecution of Israeli soldiers accused of core international crimes. In particular, Israeli occupation soldiers, police officers, prison guards and security service interrogators are never prosecuted for crimes committed against Palestinian detainees. The entire political, executive, judicial, administrative and military apparatus of the Israeli occupation are well aware of the situation and continue to maintain it through laws, amendments, policies, and by failing to prosecute Israeli  perpetrators.

While the Office of the Prosecutor announced he was continuing to pursue independent and impartial investigation and taking forward additional lines of inquiry in areas under the Court’s jurisdiction, Addameer reiterates its demands to the Office of the Prosecutor to:

• Include in its inquiries crimes relevant to the Court’s jurisdiction committees since 13 June 2014 in all of occupied Palestine, including the crime of apartheid.

• Include in its inquiry the crimes committed against Palestinian detainees, notably torture, inhuman treatment, willful killing, willful deprivation of rights to a fair trial, rape and sexual violence and unlawful deportation as war crimes and crimes against humanity, and enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity.
• Seriously investigate the crimes committed against Palestinian detainees, notably by visiting the occupied Palestinian territories—including Gaza—meeting with victims and their families, continuously engaging with Palestinian civil society organizations, and prosecuting all key perpetrators to end the cycle of impunity and abuse.
• Based on the findings of these investigations, submit applications for warrants of arrest for the National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Parliamentarian and former minister in the war cabinet, Benny Gantz, the President of Israel M. Isaac Herzog, the former head of the Israeli Prison Services (IPS) Katy Perry, the current head of the IPS Ronen Bar, and all heads of prisons and detention centers.

• Ensure the investigations are timely and adapted to the urgency of the situation, notably the ongoing genocide, the apartheid, the illegal occupation and the colonization of Palestine.

Addameer calls the international community to:

• Systematically investigate dual citizens who joined the Israeli Occupation Forces.
• Respect and comply with the ICC judicial orders and implement its arrest warrants.
• Investigate and prosecute perpetrators of crimes committed in occupied Palestine under the principle of Universal Jurisdiction.