Today, Friday, European Union Foreign Minister Josep Borrell called on Israel not to intimidate or threaten the judges of the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor requested the issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Galant against the backdrop of crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with Spanish public television TVE, Borrell said, “I ask everyone, starting with the government of Israel and also some European governments, not to intimidate judges and not to threaten them,” calling for respect for the International Criminal Court.
He added that there are countries that tried to intimidate and threaten the judges of the International Criminal Court, and those countries must stop threatening them.
A few days ago, Netanyahu issued a warning to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, after formally requesting that a warrant be issued to arrest him and his Defense Minister.
Meanwhile, Israeli government spokeswoman Tal Heinrich called on what she described as countries of the civilized and free world to stand by Israel and clearly denounce and reject the International Criminal Court’s decision.
Earlier, Israeli officials asked their American counterparts to impose sanctions on the court’s prosecutor and his team, including banning them from entering the United States, according to Israeli Channel 13.
Members of the US House of Representatives also said that they are preparing precautionary legislation to impose sanctions on International Criminal Court officials if they issue orders to arrest Israeli officials.
Israeli media reported concerns about the repercussions that would result from the issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court against Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Defense Minister.
For more than 7 months, the Israeli occupation army has been waging what international experts describe as a war of extermination against the Palestinians in Gaza, where tens of thousands were martyred and injured – most of them children and women – and nearly 70% of the civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools and hospitals, was destroyed.
