Following International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan's request to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three leaders of the Palestinian Hamas movement, the main question arises: is the arrest of these two prominent Israeli figures feasible, or will it remain a mere decision if issued? Israel is not a member of the court and does not recognize its jurisdiction; however, the Palestinian side gained membership in the court in 2015, which provides a basis for the court's jurisdiction over the matter. The court cannot arrest Netanyahu unless he travels to one of the 123 countries that have signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Therefore, the arrest of Netanyahu or Gallant, should arrest warrants be issued against them, will not be within the court's capabilities, as they are unlikely to travel to any of the signatory countries. If the request made by Khan to the court's pre-trial chamber for the issuance of arrest warrants is approved, Israel and Hamas leaders will join a list of suspects who have allegedly committed war crimes and remain out of reach of the court in The Hague.
Here are some of the prominent names on the list:
**Vladimir Putin**
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023, accusing him of committing a "war crime" by illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin dismissed this move as "meaningless" and repeatedly denied accusations of atrocities committed by Russian forces during the military operation in Ukraine. Putin is the third sitting head of state for whom the court has issued an arrest warrant, following former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
**Omar al-Bashir**
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2009, charging him with orchestrating genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in the Darfur region, where about 300,000 people were killed and over two million displaced. Al-Bashir and some of his allies were imprisoned in Sudan after the popular uprising in 2019, but they were not sent to The Hague. The military stated that the former dictator was moved from prison to a military hospital in April of the previous year.
**Joseph Kony**
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Joseph Kony, the founder and leader of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, in 2005. Earlier that year, the judges made an unprecedented decision allowing prosecutors to hold a hearing in absentia to address the charges against him. Prosecutors seek to file 36 charges against Kony for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, recruitment of children, sexual enslavement, forced marriage, and forced pregnancy.
**Saif al-Islam Gaddafi**
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and his father, the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011. Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed in October of that year. Saif al-Islam was captured by fighters from Zintan shortly after his father's death and remained detained in the city until he was released under a law of amnesty in 2017. In recent years, he attempted to run for the presidency, which was postponed in 2021 and has not occurred in Libya since then.
