TAOISEACH SIMON HARRIS has described the issuing of International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister and a Hamas leader as “an extremely significant step”.

The ICC today issued warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and Hamas’ Mohammed Deif. 

Netanyahu and Gallant are accused of a number of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and creating conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza.

Deif is accused of a long list of crimes as well, including hostage taking. The court also concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of extermination was committed.

“These charges could not be more serious,” Simon Harris said in a statement. 

“The situation in Gaza could not be more desperate, is an affront to humanity and cannot be allowed to continue a moment longer.”

“The Government has long expressed its profound concern about the conduct of the war in Gaza and has stated clearly its belief that the rules of international law and international humanitarian law have not been upheld,” he said.

Harris also insisted that “those who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, must be held fully to account”.

The Taoiseach said that anyone in a position to assist the court “must now do so with urgency”.

Signatories to the ICC are now obliged to arrest any of the three men for whom warrants have been issued if they enter their territories. 

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said in a statement following the issuing of the warrants that “Ireland is a strong supporter of the ICC and calls on all States to respect its independence and impartiality, with no attempts made to undermine the court”.

“Ireland has committed €3m in voluntary contributions to the ICC in the past year,” Martin said.

The International Criminal Court is responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of the most heinous crimes. 

It is a separate body to the International Court of Justice, which deals with disputes between states. 

Israel has been accused of genocide in a case brought to the ICJ by South Africa and the court has issued provisional measures (injunctions) against Israel after finding there are reasonable grounds to believe Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, where more than 43,000 people have been killed since October last year. 

Ireland has committed to formally intervening in that case on South Africa’s behalf.