What ICC War Crimes Warrants for Netanyahu, Hamas Leaders Would Mean

Criticism of Israel’s conduct in its war with Hamas reached a new peak when the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said May 20 that he was seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, on war crimes charges. Separately, Israel faces a case in the International Court of Justice in which it’s accused of pursuing a military campaign against Hamas that is “genocidal in character.”

The ICC is the world’s first permanent, international criminal court. It was established in 2002 by a treaty called the Rome Statute to hold accountable those who commit acts of mass inhumanity. The court, based in The Hague, has a prosecutor who can investigate and propose charging individuals with war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.