GEOFF BENNETT: We're going to get two perspectives on this now.

Adil Haque is a professor of law at Rutgers Law School.

And Yuval Shany is the chair of international law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He's also a former chair of the U.N. Human Rights Committee.

Thank you both for being with us.

Adil Haque, we will start with you.

How significant is this move by the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court to seek arrest warrants for top leaders from both Israel and Hamas?

And what might the practical impact of this be, given that Israel's government doesn't recognize the ICC?

ADIL HAQUE, Rutgers University: So, the significance is tremendous.

We have the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court bringing extremely serious charges against both the leaders of Hamas and the leaders of the Israeli military and the political establishment.

And there are really a variety of crimes, ranging from, in the case of Hamas, murder, rape, torture, taking of hostages, and, on the Israeli side, the use of starvation as a method of warfare, the killing of civilians, and the crime against humanity of extermination.

Indeed, both the leaders of Hamas and the leaders of Israel have been charged with crimes against humanity, as well as war crimes.

So these are incredibly serious allegations, extremely serious crimes.

And so the fact that they are being charged in an independent and objective manner, an even-handed manner by the prosecutor is of enormous significance.

The practical significance may be limited.

Even if arrest warrants are issued by the pretrial chamber, it may be very, very difficult to execute them.

But they're significant in two other ways.

The first is the expressive value of affirming the rights and the dignity of the victims of crimes committed by both sides of this terrible conflict.

And the other is to hopefully catalyze a political process that bring the conflict to a close and hopefully create accountability for the many victims on both sides.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yuval Shany, what about that?

And what's been the reaction in Israel?

And do you think this move by the ICC might change the way Israel is carrying out its war in Gaza?

YUVAL SHANY, Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Well, thank you.

I tend to agree with Adil that this is quite a dramatic development.

I would note that the prosecutor did -- although the charges are quite significant and broad, ultimately, they deal with a relatively narrow set of facts.

So, with Hamas, it's really dealing with the murders that took place on October 7, the taking of hostages, and the mistreatment of hostages.

And on the Israeli side, it has to do with the policy regarding humanitarian aid, which has been characterized, like Adil said, as a form of a policy of starvation.

The reaction in Israel has been, as one can imagine, extremely negative.

The very idea that Hamas -- the Israeli leadership is being put on a similar level to the Hamas leadership has been regarded here as a form of insult.

And I imagine that Israel is not going to cooperate with these proceedings going forward.

It has also been commented that this is -- at least by the opposition, that this is a diplomatic failure by the government that it has led us to such a low place.

Will it affect the war?

In the short run,probably not, because Israel has changed its policy with regard to humanitarian aid.

And now the declared policy is allegedly flooding the Gaza Strip with aid.

But I do believe that, beyond the very short-term range, this could be another impetus for Israel to bring the war to an end, because it does appear to be in a state of a tailspin, where the legal front and the diplomatic fronts are basically complicated -- are becoming more and more complicated every week that passes by.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, in a statement, President Biden called the application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, he called them outrageous.

And Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a separate statement, said the U.S. fundamentally rejects the call for arrest warrants and he says it could jeopardize diplomacy for a cease-fire or a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

Adil Haque, how do you assess the U.S. response and the U.S. position here?

ADIL HAQUE: So the U.S. response has been disappointing.

One striking feature of it is that I have not yet seen any defense of Israeli policy on the merits.

The objections are to a supposed equivalence that's being drawn between Israeli leaders and Hamas leaders or objections based on jurisdiction or process or propriety, but nothing really on the merits, nothing saying that the Israeli leaders are not guilty as charged.

On this point of equivalence, it's important to understand that international law does not compare individuals with each other.

It compares each individual's conduct with their legal obligations.

So the standard is not, is one side better or worse than the other?

The standard is the law.

Is each side complying with its legal obligations?

And, certainly, according to the prosecutor, neither side is complying with its legal obligations.

And so both have to be charged and brought to justice.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yuval Shany, the ICC's chief prosecutor had faced significant pressure from Washington for months to avoid bringing arrest warrants against top Israeli leaders in particular.

And yet they moved forward anyway.

What do you think accounts for the timing?

And what is the overall impact on the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, his political standing?

YUVAL SHANY: Well, his political standing, may be again for the short time -- for the short time, we will see some rallying around the flag.

And there has been already more than 100 Parliament members in Israel out of 120 have signed a statement which condemns the proceedings.

But I think, in the long run, it does increase the perception of Netanyahu as a political liability on the state of Israel.

And Netanyahu, who has ran for many campaigns on the basis of his diplomatic skills.

I think may be running out of road in this regard.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yuval Shany and Adil Haque, we thank you both for your insights.

We appreciate it.

YUVAL SHANY: Thank you very much.