EU Chief Says Member States Have To Arrest Israeli PM Netanyahu If ICC Issues Arrest Warrant
If the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for top Israeli officials over their alleged war crimes in Gaza, all the European Union member states will be legally forced to oblige, the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said.
On Monday, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant – as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh – accusing them of “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Reacting in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Borrell said that the European Union has taken “note” of the move by the Global Criminal Court.
He wrote: “I take note of the decision of the ICC Prosecutor to apply for warrants of arrest before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.
“The mandate of the ICC, as an independent international institution, is to prosecute the most serious crimes under international law.
“All States that have ratified the ICC statutes are bound to execute the Court’s decisions.”
Earlier in statement, Borrell decried that “In #Gaza, 31 of 36 hospitals have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the war,” insisting that “attacks against health-care workers, hospitals and ambulances deprive people of life-saving treatment: they must end”.
Even though the prosecutor has requested arrest warrants, it may take months of deliberations before a three judge panel decides whether to issue them or not.
Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court, but the State of Palestine joined the organization in 2015.
The US was one of the creators of the ICC, but Congress never ratified the Rome Statute. Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and dozens of other countries also do not accept the court’s jurisdiction.
However, some 124 countries around the globe have signed and ratified the Rome Statute, including all EU member states and all candidates, except Ukraine and Türkiye.
If warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant are issued, it could severely complicate the Israeli leaders’ ability to travel abroad.
