THE GOVERNMENTS OF the western world are divided on a bid for an international arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crime charges against Palestinians.
The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan announced yesterday that he had applied for warrants, not only to arrest Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, but also the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
He said Israel had committed “crimes against humanity”, and accused it “of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population”.
Khan also said the leaders of Hamas, including Qatar-based Ismail Haniyeh and Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, “bear criminal responsibility” for actions committed during the 7 October attack.
“International law and the laws of armed conflict apply to all,” Khan said. “No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader – no one – can act with impunity.”
The ICC has not yet confirmed the warrants.
Israel rejected the accusations as a “historical disgrace”, while Iran-backed Hamas said it “strongly condemns” the move.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy have all criticised the position of the ICC prosecutor.
In an interview with The Guardian, Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described a warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant’s arrests as “unhelpful”.
“There is no moral equivalent between a democratic state exercising its lawful right to self-defence and the terrorist group Hamas,” he said.
“This will make absolutely no difference in getting a pause in the fighting, getting aid into the region, or indeed the hostages out.”
The US, Israel’s top ally, also rejected the ICC’s bid, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying the move “could jeopardise” efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza.
President Joe Biden denounced it as “outrageous” and said “there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas”.
Similar sentiments were shared by Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France (Crif), a French Jewish representative group, which hit out at the “back-to-back comparison between an attacked democracy and an aggressor terrorist regime”.
France has supported the arrest warrant, with its foreign ministry saying it has “been raising the alarm for many months”. The civilian deaths and blocking of aid, it said, contradict a respect for international humanitarian law.
Crif said: “There is still time for our country to affirm the danger of requests for arrest warrants issued against the leaders of an allied democracy.”
The French foreign ministry also condemned Hamas’s attack on 7 October, which was “accompanied by acts of torture and sexual violence”.
The Italian Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister is staunchly against the arrest warrant for Israel, and described the perceived comparison between the IDF and Hamas as “unacceptable”.
“It seems to me truly singular, I would say unacceptable, to equate a government legitimately elected by the people in a democracy with a terrorist organisation that is the cause of everything that is happening in the Middle East,” he said.
The Czech Republic and Austria have also opposed the move.
The German foreign ministry came out with a similar statement to Italy about a “false impression of equivalence”, arguing that they are “very different cases” as Israel has “the right and duty to protect and defend its people”.
Hamas had perpetrated a “barbaric massacre” with its October 7 attack on Israel, the spokesman said.
“Hamas continues to hold Israeli hostages in unspeakable conditions, attacks Israel with rockets and uses Gaza’s civilian population as human shields.”
However, he added that it wis “clear that international humanitarian law with all its obligations applies”.
Germany is among the countries to have called on Israel to improve access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators.
— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) May 20, 2024
Statement 🇧🇪⬇️ https://t.co/xdU5We7gx0 pic.twitter.com/I3SBRSbOkW
Meanwhile Germany’s neighbour Belgium has welcomed the potential arrest warrants, saying it’s an important step in any investigation.
The small country’s foreign minister Hadja Lahbib said Belgium “will continue to support the essential work of international justice to ensure that those responsible for all crimes are held accountable”.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said it is “critical” that Israel’s crimes are prosecuted.
“We will keep the struggle for accountability and the rule of law alive until there is justice and dignity for Palestinian victims and Israel is held accountable for its occupation, ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people,” said Raji Sourani, the organisation’s director.
With reporting by – © AFP 2024
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