The resounding announcement of the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in the Gaza Strip, sparked a wave of reactions from the media and leaders around the world. A “massive legal bomb”, estimates the newspaper Times of Israel. Who underlines that “this is the first time that the Court has issued such arrest warrants against the leaders of a democratic country”. The two Israeli officials are now threatened with arrest if they set foot on the soil of one of the 124 signatory countries to the Rome Statute which established the ICC in 1998.
In detail, the Hague court declared that the two Israeli officials bore “each criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts”, as well as for having “intentionally directed an attack against the civilian population”, specifies the European news site Politico.
“The International Criminal Court has no legitimacy”
In Israel, the decision was widely denounced. First concerned, Benjamin Netanyahu described the mandate as an “anti-Semitic decision”, considering himself the victim of a new “Dreyfus trial”. While his former Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, denounced a “dangerous precedent” which “encourages terrorism”. “It’s a black day for justice. A black day for humanity,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog added on the social network brutal captivity by Hamas in Gaza” and choosing “the camp of terrorism”. Even in the ranks of the opposition, the reaction is strong. “Israel is defending the lives of its citizens against terrorist organizations that have attacked, killed and raped our people. These arrest warrants are a bonus for terrorism,” said opposition leader Yair Lapid.
If this decision risks, according to the Israel Times, to completely isolate Benyamin Netanyahu, “and to complicate efforts aimed at negotiating a ceasefire to end a conflict which has lasted for 13 months”, the consequences are mitigated by the alliance of the Hebrew State with the United States, which is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and is therefore not required to implement the arrest order. “The United States categorically rejects the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council declared, a few hours after the announcement. The next Trumpist national security adviser, Michael Waltz, affirmed that “the ICC has no credibility”, reports the Israeli daily.
Gazans skeptical of US support
Washington’s position is, unsurprisingly, denounced by Hamas. “This decision, which the American administration – complicit in Zionist war crimes – tried to block for months by intimidating the Court and its judges, constitutes a major historical precedent,” rejoices the Palestinian Islamist movement, cited by the Lebanese daily The Orient-The Day. “It also corrects a long trajectory of injustice towards our people and a worrying complacency in the face of the atrocious violations they have suffered for 76 years of fascist occupation,” adds the organization classified as terrorist by the United States and Europe. .
In Gaza, however, the information “is taken with a little skepticism… Once again, we know the unwavering American support”, reported this Thursday Hani Mahmoud, Palestinian correspondent present in the Gaza Strip for the Qatari media Al-Jazeera.
EU countries will implement ICC decision
On social networks, the response from the head of European diplomacy quickly came. “I take note of the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Mr. Netanyahu, former Minister Gallant […]. These decisions are binding on all signatory states to the Rome Statute, which includes all EU member states,” he recalled, insisting that these decisions must be “respected and applied.”
Several European Union countries have already confirmed their intention to apply the ICC order to the letter. Asked whether Germany would implement an arrest warrant issued by the ICC as early as last May, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told a news conference “of course we respect the law”, adding that Berlin is a “fundamental” supporter of the ICC, reports the British daily The Times. This Thursday, the Netherlands also announced that it was preparing to execute the arrest warrants, while France affirmed, through the voice of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the country’s response will be “consistent with the principles of the ICC”. Ireland, for its part, “respects the role of the International Criminal Court. Anyone able to help it carry out its essential work must now do so urgently”, reports the Middle-East Online site.
Whatever its outcome, this twist constitutes “the most spectacular legal development in the history of Israel” whose officials had until now never been targeted by international mandates, judge Eliav Lieblich, professor of international law at Tel Aviv University, with the American television CNN. Beyond the risk of arrest in 124 countries, according to the specialist, we can anticipate broader implications, such as a “limitation of the ability of third parties to cooperate with the Israeli army”.