Amnesty International South Africa (SA) noted on Tuesday that those who are suspected of responsibility for crimes under international law in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) should face trial and accountability, “no matter how powerful or how high-ranking they are”.

On Monday the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) prosecutor requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.

The application follows the alleged war crimes of starvation of civilians, attacks directed at civilians, and wilful killing and causing great suffering, as well as the crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of extermination, including through starvation, and persecution, among others, committed in the Gaza strip from at least October 8, 2023.

Amnesty International SA executive director Shenilla Mohamed stated that no one was above international law.

“No leaders of armed groups, no government officials - elected or not, no military officials. Regardless of the cause they are pursuing, no one is above the law,” she said.

Mohamed highlighted that the application for arrest warrants by the ICC’s prosecutor in the State of Palestine was also a long-awaited opportunity to end the “decades-long cycle of impunity” in Israel and the OPT, and to restore the credibility of the international justice system as a whole.

She said this move by the prosecutor sends an important message to all parties to the conflict in Gaza and beyond that they will be held accountable for the devastation waged on the peoples of Gaza and Israel.

Mohamed said all States must respect the legitimacy of the court.

“…All states, including third States not members of the ICC, must respect this decision. They must refrain from any attempts to intimidate or pressure the court to allow the judges to conduct their work with full independence and impartiality,” she said.

Mohamed noted that if the Court’s judges approved any arrest warrants, all ICC State parties must ensure the enforcement of these warrants.