European nations back ICC after it orders arrest ofNetanyahu
Nov 21, 2024 21:20:27 GMT -5
Post by shalom on Nov 21, 2024 21:20:27 GMT -5
European nations back ICC after it orders arrest of Netanyahu, Gallant
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said his government would scrap all "non-essential contacts" with the Israeli prime minister.
(Nov. 21, 2024 | Updated Nov. 21, 12:09 / JNS)
European governments backed the International Criminal Court in The Hague following its decision on Thursday to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and slain Hamas terror leader Mohammed Deif.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s outgoing foreign-policy chief, claimed that the ruling was “not political” and should be respected.
“I take note of the decision of the international criminal court to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu, the former minister of defense, Mr. Gallant, and the Hamas leader, Deif,” Borrell said. “This decision is a binding decision on all states, all the state parties of the court, which include all members of the European Union,” he added.
“The Netherlands obviously respects the independence of the ICC and does not interfere in the substance of investigations conducted by the ICC,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp stated in parliament.
“We will examine the ruling, but the position of the Cabinet is clear: We are a party to the Rome Statute, and based on the Rome Statute [which established the court] and the ICC Implementing Act, we are obliged to cooperate with the ICC, and we will also do that,” he continued.
The Hague’s top diplomat said the Dutch government would scrap all “non-essential contacts” with Netanyahu in response to the ICC ruling. Veldkamp is scheduled to visit the Jewish state in the coming weeks.
A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson informed AFP that Paris would respond in line with the court’s founding statutes, raising the possibility that Netanyahu and Gallant could be placed under arrest in France.
Asked by reporters at a press conference if Paris would move to arrest Netanyahu, spokesman Christophe Lemoine stated: “It’s a point that is legally complex, so I’m not going to comment on it today.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office stressed to The Telegraph daily that London respects the ICC’s autonomy, hailing the tribunal as “the primary institutional institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes in relation to international law.”
The statement added, “This Government has been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself in accordance with international law. There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, which are terror groups.”
Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin emphasized that Dublin is a “strong supporter of the ICC,” urging states to “respect its independence and impartiality, with no attempts made to undermine the court.”
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice said it was required to cooperate with the court under the Rome Statute and would therefore have to arrest Netanyahu or Gallant if they entered the country, Reuters reported.
Petra De Sutter, Belgium’s deputy prime minister, called on other European nations to “impose economic sanctions, suspend the [E.U.] Association Agreement with Israel and uphold these arrest warrants.
“War crimes and crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished,” De Sutter, a member of the far-left Green Party, charged in a post on X.
The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber “issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest,” it said in a Thursday statement.
In a separate statement, the court ordered the detention of Deif, the supreme commander of Hamas’s “military wing,” who according to the Israel Defense Forces was killed in an airstrike in Gaza on July 13.
Regarding Deif, the court said that it had “reasonable grounds to believe that senior leaders of Hamas, comprising at least Mr. Deif, Mr. [Yahya] Sinwar, and Mr. [Ismail] Haniyeh, agreed to jointly carry out the 7 October 2023 Operation.”
Khan had requested warrants against former Hamas political leader Haniyeh and Hamas terrorist chief in Gaza Sinwar but dropped the legal proceedings after their deaths on July 31 and Oct. 16, respectively.
Roughly 1,200 civilians were murdered by Hamas and Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. Thousands more were wounded and 251 others were taken into the Gaza Strip.
The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel as Jerusalem is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court. But in a legalistic sleight of hand, the court has asserted jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, even though no such state is recognized under international law.
The 123 countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute are obligated to act on any arrest warrant it issues, raising the possibility that Netanyahu and Gallant could be arrested while visiting these places.
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Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said his government would scrap all "non-essential contacts" with the Israeli prime minister.
(Nov. 21, 2024 | Updated Nov. 21, 12:09 / JNS)
European governments backed the International Criminal Court in The Hague following its decision on Thursday to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and slain Hamas terror leader Mohammed Deif.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s outgoing foreign-policy chief, claimed that the ruling was “not political” and should be respected.
“I take note of the decision of the international criminal court to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu, the former minister of defense, Mr. Gallant, and the Hamas leader, Deif,” Borrell said. “This decision is a binding decision on all states, all the state parties of the court, which include all members of the European Union,” he added.
“The Netherlands obviously respects the independence of the ICC and does not interfere in the substance of investigations conducted by the ICC,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp stated in parliament.
“We will examine the ruling, but the position of the Cabinet is clear: We are a party to the Rome Statute, and based on the Rome Statute [which established the court] and the ICC Implementing Act, we are obliged to cooperate with the ICC, and we will also do that,” he continued.
The Hague’s top diplomat said the Dutch government would scrap all “non-essential contacts” with Netanyahu in response to the ICC ruling. Veldkamp is scheduled to visit the Jewish state in the coming weeks.
A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson informed AFP that Paris would respond in line with the court’s founding statutes, raising the possibility that Netanyahu and Gallant could be placed under arrest in France.
Asked by reporters at a press conference if Paris would move to arrest Netanyahu, spokesman Christophe Lemoine stated: “It’s a point that is legally complex, so I’m not going to comment on it today.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office stressed to The Telegraph daily that London respects the ICC’s autonomy, hailing the tribunal as “the primary institutional institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes in relation to international law.”
The statement added, “This Government has been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself in accordance with international law. There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, which are terror groups.”
Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin emphasized that Dublin is a “strong supporter of the ICC,” urging states to “respect its independence and impartiality, with no attempts made to undermine the court.”
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice said it was required to cooperate with the court under the Rome Statute and would therefore have to arrest Netanyahu or Gallant if they entered the country, Reuters reported.
Petra De Sutter, Belgium’s deputy prime minister, called on other European nations to “impose economic sanctions, suspend the [E.U.] Association Agreement with Israel and uphold these arrest warrants.
“War crimes and crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished,” De Sutter, a member of the far-left Green Party, charged in a post on X.
The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber “issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest,” it said in a Thursday statement.
In a separate statement, the court ordered the detention of Deif, the supreme commander of Hamas’s “military wing,” who according to the Israel Defense Forces was killed in an airstrike in Gaza on July 13.
Regarding Deif, the court said that it had “reasonable grounds to believe that senior leaders of Hamas, comprising at least Mr. Deif, Mr. [Yahya] Sinwar, and Mr. [Ismail] Haniyeh, agreed to jointly carry out the 7 October 2023 Operation.”
Khan had requested warrants against former Hamas political leader Haniyeh and Hamas terrorist chief in Gaza Sinwar but dropped the legal proceedings after their deaths on July 31 and Oct. 16, respectively.
Roughly 1,200 civilians were murdered by Hamas and Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. Thousands more were wounded and 251 others were taken into the Gaza Strip.
The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel as Jerusalem is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court. But in a legalistic sleight of hand, the court has asserted jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, even though no such state is recognized under international law.
The 123 countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute are obligated to act on any arrest warrant it issues, raising the possibility that Netanyahu and Gallant could be arrested while visiting these places.
link
