The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court filed applications on Monday to obtain arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense minister and Hamas leaders on charges of suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Israeli-Hamas bloodshed.
If approved, the warrants against Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Miinister Yoav Gallant would be the first time the ICC has targeted a top leader of a close ally of the U.S.
Charges against Netanyahu and Gallant detailed in a statement issued by prosecutor Kariim Khan include extermination, starvation, "wilfully causing great suffering," and "intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population."
Applications for warrants were also filed for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Hamas military leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, and political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
"On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe" the Hamas leaders were involved in several war crimes and wars against humanity, Khan said in the statement, including "extermination ... murder ... the taking of hostages ... torture ... rape and other sexual violence," Khan said in his statement.
"We submit that the crimes against humanity charged were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Israel by Hamas and other armed groups pursuant to organizational policies. Some of these crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day," Khan noted in the statement.
A panel of judges must approve the warrant applications before the warrants can be issued. The applications were filed before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court in the Situation in the State of Palestine.
Netanyahu said last month that any ICC arrest warrants against senior Israeli government and military officials "would be an outrage of historic proportions." He said Israel "has an independent legal system that rigorously investigates all violations of the law."
Asked Monday on CNN by correspondent Christian Amanpour about Netanyahu's comments, Khan told her: "Nobody is above the law."
Israeli officials are "free, notwithstanding their objections to jurisdiction, to raise a challenge before the [ICC] judges of the court and that's what I advise them to do," he added.
