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2024-11-23 International-UN-NGOs
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'Anti-Semitic Decision': ICC Waits for Right Moment to Issue Netanyahu Warrant
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Dmitry Polyakov
[REGNUM] On November 21, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant. They are accused of committing “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in the Gaza Strip. However, the ICC did not stop there.
At the same time, an arrest warrant was issued for Muhammad Deif, the leader of Hamas' military wing. He is considered one of the main organizers of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack. It is noteworthy that, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Deif was liquidated this summer.
All three warrants were issued by the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Ahmad Khan.
THE ESSENCE OF THE ACCUSATIONS
The arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant are for crimes committed between October 8, 2023 and at least May 20, 2024. The ICC says it has reason to believe that the Israeli prime minister and former defense minister deprived civilians in the Gaza Strip of vital resources.
"Both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population of Gaza of items essential to their survival, including food, water, medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity," the court said in a statement.
Despite warnings and appeals from international organizations and leaders of other countries, Israel has provided only “minimal humanitarian assistance.” For this reason, the ICC has raised suspicions that Netanyahu and Galant may be guilty of using starvation as a weapon of war.
The statement also claimed that "the alleged crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza."
As for Mohammed Deif, the ICC said he is suspected of having committed “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the territory of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine since at least 7 October 2023.” These crimes include murder, extermination, torture, hostage-taking, rape and other violence.
"ANTI-SEMITIC DECISION"
It is important to note that the execution of the ICC order is mandatory for countries that have ratified the Rome Statute. There are 124 such countries. However, there are also those that have signed but not ratified the statute – 29 states in total. Among them are Israel, its main ally – the United States, as well as Russia, Iran and some Arab countries.
It is noteworthy that the members of the European Union, friendly to Israel, have ratified the Rome Statute and are ready to implement the court's decision. Thus, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell stated that "the ICC decision is binding on all member states."
The French Foreign Ministry also expressed its willingness to follow the court's principles and announced that "Paris's response to the ICC's arrest order against Netanyahu will be in line with these principles." The foreign ministries of Belgium and the Netherlands responded in a similar manner.
The only EU country that does not agree with the court's decision is Hungary. Budapest said it was ready to accept the Israeli prime minister, guaranteeing his safety. The decision is explained by the fact that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long established friendly relations with Benjamin Netanyahu and supports Israel on many issues.
The Jewish state, for its part, categorically disagrees with the arrest warrant issued by the ICC. A statement released by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said the accusations against the country were false and anti-Semitic. "The anti-Semitic decision of the International Criminal Court is a modern-day Dreyfus trial, and it will end the same way," the statement said.
Israel considers the ICC a biased and discriminatory political body that makes false and absurd accusations. The statement also said the decision to issue the warrants was made by a “corrupt attorney general who is trying to protect himself from sexual harassment charges and biased judges driven by anti-Semitic hatred of Israel.”
The case concerns the ICC's November 11 decision to open an external investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Khan, who denies any wrongdoing.
THE WEST IS DISAPPOINTED
Karim Ahmad Kan requested an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Galant back in May. However, the process was delayed due to concerns that its implementation could hinder negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of hostages. The negotiations have not yielded results in the past six months. On the contrary, the situation has become even more tense after the assassinations of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and the movement's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
The Israeli military cabinet does not seem to be stopping. Netanyahu visited Gaza this week and declared that Hamas would not be in the Strip. Moreover, the Jewish state has been conducting a destructive ground operation in Lebanon for the second month. It is probably Israel’s intransigence that has convinced the ICC that there is no point in delaying the warrant any longer.
The timing was not accidental. The ICC ruling came during ceasefire talks between Israel and Hezbollah this week led by US special envoy Amos Hochstein.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, he visited Beirut, where he held a series of meetings with acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the secretary general of the Shiite Amal Party, Nabih Berri, who is acting as a mediator between Hezbollah and Western countries. At the final press conference, Hochstein said that he had managed to achieve progress in the dialogue with the Lebanese side.
Immediately after, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem appeared on television. He noted that the success of the current negotiations depended on Israel's reaction and the "seriousness" of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, Qassem emphasized that the Jewish state was putting forward too serious conditions: "Israel wants to achieve through an agreement what it could not achieve on the battlefield. This is impossible."
After the Beirut talks, Amos Hochstein traveled to Tel Aviv, where he held several meetings with Israeli officials, including Netanyahu. According to Arab media reports, Israel is reluctant to make concessions on fundamental issues, so the American envoy is pushing for more rounds of talks.
It is significant that the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli citizens precisely at the time of Netanyahu's negotiations with Hochstein. This decision shows that Western countries are extremely disappointed with Israel's intransigence and are perhaps trying to put pressure on the country's leadership.
In this situation, the reaction of the French Foreign Ministry is quite understandable. Paris is trying to actively participate in the resolution of the conflict, but its attempts to penetrate deeply into Lebanon through mediation efforts are each time met with the unwillingness of the Israeli side to compromise.
Certainly, the arrest warrant signals a higher stakes in the negotiations. However, the decision could only make matters worse. With Netanyahu in a difficult position, he may refuse to compromise and take steps that will escalate the conflict, including continuing military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
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