Top European diplomat Josep Borrell says arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and its former defense minister must be respected, but European countries are divided on the issue.
European leaders are divided over the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The world’s highest court on war crimes issued Thursday an arrest warrant for the Israeli leader and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas commander, Mohammed Deif.
The ICC asserts that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by restricting humanitarian aid and targeting civilians during Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
The Court adds that its members – which include the 27 Member States of the European Union – are required to detain people targeted by an arrest warrant if they set foot on their soil. However, in practice, the Court has no means of enforcing this obligation.
The head of EU foreign policy, Josep Borrell said on Thursday that the Court’s decision should be “respected and implemented” by Member States.
Viktor Orbán challenges ICC decision
However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán responded that he would invite Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Budapestafter qualifying the mandates as “scandalously impudent” and of “cynical”.
Italy, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, on the other hand, have indicated that they will respect the decision of the Courtr and would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he visited their territory.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Thursday that although he is “incorrect” according to him to compare Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant to Hamas, the two men would be arrested if they entered Italy.
Arrest warrants constitute “an extremely important step”according to Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, who adds that his country will respect the ICC decision.
The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declares its support “fully” the work of the ICC and considers that “those responsible for crimes committed in Israel and Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of who committed these crimes”.
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp confirmed that the Netherlands “would follow up on the arrest warrants”.
Other countries reacted more mixed, but indicated they would follow the Court’s decision.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs simply declared that it would act “in accordance with the statutes of the ICC”.
His Austrian counterpart, on the other hand, described the arrest warrants as “ridiculous”while admitting that Austria would also be forced to make arrests if Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant visited Austria.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Germany “examined” his response to the Court’s decision, adding that the country was linked to the ICC and recognized international law.
It is the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by an international court of justice.
This decision, although symbolic, is not binding. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is the subject of an ICC arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, recently escaped arrest during his visit to Mongolia, although that country is the one of the Member States of the Court.
Joe Biden and Israel condemn ICC decision
While all 27 member states of the European Union are part of the Court, this is not the case for the United States and Israel.
The American President Joe Biden condemned arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallantcalling them “scandalous”.
These were issued at the same time asanother warrant against Hamas commander Mohammed Deiffor crimes against humanity, including murder and torture, during the attack of October 7, 2023 perpetrated by Hamas.
Joe Biden considers that there is no “no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas” and condemns the court for comparing Israeli politicians to Mohammed Deif.
“We will always stand with Israel in the face of threats to its security”adds the outgoing American president.
Israel challenges arrest warrants
Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, described the arrest warrants as“anti-Semites” in a statement made Thursday.
The Israeli leader disputed the court’s allegations, saying Israel had supplied Gaza “700,000 tons of food to feed the population of Gaza”.
“We are sending millions of text messages, phone calls and leaflets to the citizens of Gaza to keep them out of harm’s way”he adds.
Hamas did not respond to the announcement of the arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, but described the decision against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant as “correcting a long path of historical injustice against our people”.
Israel claimed to have killed Mohammed Deif in an airstrike, but Hamas has never confirmed his death.