Yemen’s Ministry of Human Rights welcomed the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Karim Khan, to charge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with violating international law and committing war crimes, including killing, genocide, starvation, and siege, depriving the Palestinian people of life.
In a statement issued Monday, the Ministry praised the Prosecutor’s submission of requests to the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, affirming that no one is above international law.
The Ministry described this as a serious step towards condemning the genocidal crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, holding it accountable, achieving international justice for the Palestinians, and partially compensating for the historical injustice they have suffered.
The Ministry called on the ICC to take further actions to demonstrate its seriousness and professionalism, emphasizing that no right will be lost without a demand.
The Ministry expressed surprise at the inclusion of Palestinian personalities in the indictment, calling it an unfair equation between victim and executioner, and urged the cancellation of arrest warrants against Hamas leaders who resist occupation.
The Ministry called on the ICC to expand the list of those charged to include the political and military leadership of Israel and officials from the American, French, British, and German administrations, citing their moral and material support for Israeli crimes through arms and political backing.
The statement highlighted that American and European collusion has emboldened Israel to commit crimes and sustain its illegal occupation of Palestine, by providing military, political, financial, and media support.
The Ministry stressed the need to end the impunity enjoyed by Israel with American and European support and to subject Israel and its supporters to international law, creating deterrent pressure to prevent further crimes against Palestinians.
The Ministry called for activating the role of the ICC in holding individuals accountable for serious crimes affecting humanity and threatening international peace and security, urging the Court to revive its role in achieving criminal justice regardless of the perpetrator’s or victim’s identity.
The Ministry reiterated the call to the international community to support the Court’s work towards justice, emphasizing the ongoing international failure to prevent and stop serious crimes and violations against the Palestinian people over 76 years, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
The Ministry also called on states to fulfill their legal and moral obligations to comply with arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, cooperate in arresting the accused, prevent their escape, and hand them over to the ICC without delay.
Earlier, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has applied for arrest warrant against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the regime’s war crimes and systematic attacks against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
An arrest warrant has also been sought for Israel’s minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant against the backdrop of the military’s seven months of bloody campaign in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Karim Khan said in a Monday statement that he has reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
He outlined a list of crimes, including “starvation of civilians” and “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.”
“We submit that the crimes against humanity charged were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population pursuant to State policy.”
These crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day, Khan added.
A panel of judges in the court will now consider the application for the arrest warrants.
