22 May 2024; MEMO: If the International Criminal Court’s judges move forward and issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, the officials would not be able to travel to 124 countries including the UK.
On Monday, the ICC’s Public Prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced that he had requested arrest warrants to be issued for Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against Palestinans in the Gaza Strip.
If issued, the pair would be barred from travelling to countries which are signatories to the Rome Statute or risk facing arrest.
The US and Israel are not parties to the ICC and do not recognise its jurisdiction in the case.
The applications for arrest warrants will first need to be approved by a panel of three judges from Romania, Benin, and Mexico at the ICC before they can be implemented.
Khan has also sought arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders.
