Equidistance with Israel is being imposed again in many world capitals after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes. The President of the United States, Joe Biden, described the decision of international justice as “scandalous” and several countries avoided specifying whether they would comply with the order if these leaders set foot on their territory, as provides for the Rome Statute. Far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán directly defied the court by inviting Netanyahu to Budapest.
The International Court found “reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant have criminal responsibility” in the massacre perpetrated in Gaza since October 8, 2023 following Hamas attacks in Israel. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the response from the international community has been lax. Indeed, this week, the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, put the suspension of political dialogue with Tel Aviv on the table and the majority of member states rejected it.
Today, the head of European diplomacy, who has only a week left in his post, called on countries that have ratified the Rome Statute to comply with the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and his former minister of justice. Defense. “It is not a political decision, it is a decision of an international court of justice, and the decision of the court must be respected and applied,” he said during a press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
Arab countries celebrated the ruling by the International Criminal Court, which also includes Hamas leader Mohamed Deif, and several countries assured they would comply with the order, such as Canada and the Netherlands. However, not everyone has clarified whether they will do so. This is the case of the United Kingdom or France for example.
“We respect the independence of the ICC, which is the main international institution responsible for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes under international law,” declared a spokesperson for the British Labor government, who however refused to “formulate hypotheses” concerning a possible arrest on British soil of Netanyahu. “We support the continuation of the work of the ICC. Our reaction will be consistent with these principles,” said the French spokesperson, who, when asked whether French authorities would arrest Netanyahu if he entered French soil, avoided giving a clear answer: “C This is a legally complex issue. I will not make any further comments today. This is a situation that must be handled with great care.
Some European countries have directly criticized this decision. The Austrian Foreign Minister, the conservative Alexander Schallenberg, assured that this “damages the credibility of the International Criminal Court” and described it as “absolutely incomprehensible”. The Hungarian prime minister went further, calling himself “cynical” and defying the court by inviting Netanyahu to visit Budapest.
In an interview with TVE, Borrell assured that it was “very worrying” that some European countries intended to circumvent the arrest order.
In a statement, Biden harshly criticized the arrest warrant: “The ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the implications of the ICC, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security. »
