Last week, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant. They were charged with crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution, and inhumane acts, as well as the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare. The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, one of the top ranking military commanders of the Palestinian political party and armed resistance group, Hamas. 

But what does all this mean in practice? After all, the genocide in Gaza by Israel is still ongoing and there are still illegal violent settler expansions in the West Bank. And considering Malaysia isn’t a member of the International Criminal Court, can we arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot on Malaysian soil?

We unpack this with Dr Jinan Bastaki, Associate Professor of Legal Studies, NYU Abu Dhabi.

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