Mapping State Reactions to the ICC Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it had issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the former defense minister, in connection with alleged crimes committed in the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hamas. In doing so, the Court rejected as premature Israel’s challenge to the Court’s jurisdiction. The Court’s decision to issue a warrant for the sitting Prime Minister of a state, which is notably not a party to the Rome Statute, also demonstrates the Court’s embrace of its prior controversial decision on immunity, namely that customary international law does not provide immunity for heads of state from criminal prosecution in international criminal courts, or at least not before the International Criminal Court. This position could be a source of tension for those states that support a customary international law rule providing head of state immunity before international tribunals, but are also bound by treaty to comply with the Court’s warrants and requests for arrest.