While Canada and some European countries have adopted a cautious and favorable approach towards the International Criminal Court, the United States has opposed the issuance of arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Galant, the former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Israel.
The judges of the International Criminal Court issued the arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Galant, the former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Israel, on Thursday, the 1st of August, and rejected Israel’s appeal.
Netanyahu, Gallant and Zaif have been accused by the Hague Tribunal of committing “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity”.
Netanyahu’s office called this sentence “anti-Semitic” and the accusations of this court “baseless and false”.
Also, the spokesperson of the US National Security Council said on Thursday: “We are extremely concerned about the prosecutor’s haste in requesting these rulings and the mistakes in the process that led to the issuing of this decision.”
ConNews reported that in recent days, Israel has prepared a list of proposals and recommendations for the Trump administration regarding actions and sanctions against the International Criminal Court, including which members of this court should be sanctioned.
But in Canada and Europe different positions have been adopted regarding this ruling.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday in response to a question about the rulings: “Canada will comply with all rulings issued by international courts.”
“It’s really important that everyone abides by international law,” Trudeau said at a televised news conference. “We defend international law and obey all regulations and rulings of international courts.”
In Europe, the British Prime Minister’s spokesman, in response to the issuance of arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, said that Britain respects the independence of the International Criminal Court and is still focused on trying to establish an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the implementation of these rulings is binding on all EU member states.
Karim Khan’s emphasis on the execution of the sentence
Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, referring to the issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu Galant, said that the countries that are members of the court must fulfill their obligations.
However, the practical impact of such arrest warrants may be limited because Israel and its main ally, the United States, are not members of the Hague Tribunal.
Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, on May 31 this year, asked the judges of this court to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, Galant, Zaif, Yahya Sanwar and Ismail Haniyeh, three Hamas leaders who were all killed.
On the third day of Thor this year, he asked the judges of this court to immediately decide on his request to arrest these officials related to the Gaza war.
The Times of Israel wrote in a report that the ruling makes Netanyahu and other Israeli political leaders “internationally wanted suspects” and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
In the past months, Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague Court and denied war crimes in Gaza, but the International Criminal Court says that it is not necessary for Israel to accept the jurisdiction of this court.
Karim Khan previously said that the Hague Court has jurisdiction over the cases of Israeli citizens who commit “heinous crimes” in the Palestinian territories.
Citing the laws, he had called the jurisdiction of the court in its present state a “settled principle”.
Three judges of the International Criminal Court have issued these verdicts unanimously.
According to this ruling, if Netanyahu and Gallant travel to any of the more than 120 countries that are members of the Hague Tribunal, they may be arrested.
The Hague Court also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammad Zaif, one of the slain Hamas leaders.
Israel confirmed on the 11th of Assad that it killed Ibrahim al-Masri, known as Mohammad Zaif, in an airstrike.
The anger of the Israeli authorities from the judgment of the Hague Court
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement calling the verdict of the Hague court “an anti-Semitic decision” and a new example of the Dreyfus trial, which will end the same way.
Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish officer in the French army who became a symbol of systematic anti-Semitism in Europe in the late 19th century due to racial and political reasons.
Netanyahu’s office said Israel rejects with complete disgust the actions and “baseless and false accusations” against it by the International Criminal Court, adding: “The Hague Court is a biased and discriminatory political organization.”
The statement added that the issuance of such a sentence is the result of Karim Khan’s efforts to “escape serious charges against himself for sexual harassment” as well as the beliefs of “biased judges” who were motivated by “anti-Semitic hatred” against Israel.
This statement refers to the accusations of “sexual abuse” that were brought to Karim Khan in the past months, and according to Reuters sources, about two weeks ago, the governing body of The Hague Court started an external investigation about it.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also said in response to the issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders: “This is a dark day for justice and humanity.”
He described the verdict of the Hague Tribunal as a “shocking decision” that was “made with bad intentions” and has turned global justice into a “global farce”.
The President of Israel said that the Hague Tribunal has favored “terror and evil” over democracy and freedom, and has turned the justice system into a human shield for Hamas’ crimes against humanity.
Amir Ohana, Speaker of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), also called this decision “a dark point in the history of international law” and an attack on “justice, truth and the universal right to self-defense.”