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The International Criminal Court is for countries that do not have a strong and independent judiciary and are members. Israel does not fit any of those criteria. [IsraelTimes] Republicans in US Congress threaten to sanction international court, as human rights NGOs welcome PM’s new status as ‘officially a wanted man’
In the hours after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday, European officials said they were prepared to obey the decision. American politicians panned it, calling to sanction the court instead.
Possibly the ICC has overreached this time. The decision to issue the warrants, granted unanimously on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes during Israel’s campaign against the Hamas
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
terror group in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response ...
, marked the first time the ICC has ever issued arrest warrants against leaders of a democratic country.
Both Netanyahu and Gallant will be liable for arrest if they travel to any of the more than 120 countries that are party to the ICC. The court also issued an arrest warrant for slain Hamas military leader Mohammad Deif, noting it could not confirm his death.
The EU’s outgoing foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Thursday that the decision was not a political one but made by a court and thus should be respected and implemented, writing on X, "These decisions are binding on all States party to the Rome Statute, which includes all EU Member States."
The Netherlands’ foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said his country was prepared to act upon the warrants, Dutch news agency ANP reported. Veldkamp was expected to visit Israel on Friday.
Does he expect to be welcomed warmly after that choice? Or is he bringing the left ears of all the Dutch Muslims who partook in the recent Jew hunt, with proof of their involvement and other nefarious connections, to make up for it? Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, in a statement, said that "Ireland respects the role of the International Criminal Court. Anyone in a position to assist it in carrying out its vital work must now do so with urgency."
Harris’s statement also called for "an immediate ceasefire, release of all hostages, and unhindered access for humanitarian aid in Gaza," calling the situation in the enclave "an affront to humanity."
La Belle France’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said the French reaction to the warrants would be "in line with ICC statutes" but declined to say whether
.style='border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:gray;' title='France'>La Belle France would arrest the leaders if they came to the country. "It’s a point that is legally complex," he said.
Not really. Either the ICC has jurisdiction and is correct that Bibi and Israel are irredeemably evil, with a supine court system, or the ICC does not and is wrong. ”Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani likewise hedged his response, saying, "We support the ICC, while always remembering that the court must play a legal role and not a political role. We will evaluate together with our allies what to do and how to interpret this decision."
The foreign ministers of Sweden and Norway both expressed confidence in the court, but did not say explicitly whether they would execute the arrest warrant if in a position to.
In the United States, by contrast, leaders on both sides of the aisle condemned the decision.
US President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created ... by the — you know — you know, the thing ...
’s administration, which had publicly denounced the initial request for arrest warrants, "fundamentally rejects" the decision, a White House National Security spokesperson told The Times of Israel.
"We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision," the spokesperson added.
When the ICC prosecutor announced his decision to request the arrest warrants in May, the US said at the time that he had failed to provide Israel with the opportunity to investigate the claims itself.
Stephanie Hallett, US deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Israel, said Thursday that the ICC "does not have jurisdiction in this instance," because "the complementarity principle has absolutely not been applied," referring to the principle that if a state is capable of investigating crimes committed there on its own, the international court does not have jurisdiction.
She added that ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan "absolutely had an opportunity to get on a plane to come here and engage with Israel. Instead, he chose not to get on the plane."
Well said. Hallett said Thursday morning that an official response from Biden to the arrest warrants would be coming shortly, describing the imminent comments as "very strong."
While the Biden administration has spoken against the ICC and ICJ cases against Israel, it has to date rejected calls from Republican politicians to sanction the court as President-elect Donald Trump
...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried....
did in his first term.
But GOP congressman Michael Waltz, whom President-elect Donald Trump has said he will appoint as his national security advisor, said: "You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January."
Ritchie Torres, among the most pro-Israel Democrats
...every time you hear the phrase white people , white supremacy, white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects...
in the US Congress, also called to sanction the court. In a lengthy post to X, the representative from New York said the arrest warrants represented "the weaponization of international law at its most egregious," calling it "persecution posing as prosecution."
"The ICC ignores the cause and context of the war," Torres said, adding that not only did the Hamas terror group start the war with its October 7, 2023 attack — in which murderous Moslems invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages — the group also "carefully constructed a battlefield designed to maximize the loss of civilian life" in Gaza.
"None of that context seems to matter to the kangaroo court of the ICC, which cannot let facts get in the way of its ideological crusade against the Jewish State," he said.
He is rapidly becoming one of my favourite Democrats. In June, the House passed a bill that, if it became law, would cancel the US visas of ICC officials, restrict entry of, and place financial restrictions on any of the court’s officials who are seeking to detain or prosecute allies of the United States.
Another thing to look forward to in January. US President Joe Biden said at the time he was "strongly opposed" to the legislation which passed with a majority of 247-155, including with the support of 42 Democrats.
It has not been taken up by the US Senate, however, though Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
...Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras and microphones. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower, which is 48.96282 years. Senate minority leader as of 2017...
, of New York, called the initial request for arrest warrants "reprehensible."
On Wednesday, roughly a third of Senate Democrats voted in favor of three failed bids to block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel, underscoring the internal divide among Democrats on the issue.
Republican Senator John Thune, who is set to succeed Schumer in January, vowed that if the ICC does not reverse its decision, the Senate will "immediately pass sanctions legislation, as the House has already done on a bipartisan basis," at the start of the next Congress.
Centrist Susan Collins and vocally pro-Israel Democrat John Fetterman also expressed their opposition to the arrest warrants, with the latter posting to X a headline about the decision, captioned, "No standing, relevance, or path. Fuck that."
Another of the good ones — a classic Democrat of the old school. Also denouncing the warrants was Argentina
...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita...
’s president, Javier Milei, who posted on X that his country "declares its deep disagreement" with the decision, which he said "ignores Israel’s right to self-defense against the constant attacks by terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.’
International human rights
...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state...
organizations praised the decision and urged states to execute the arrest warrants.
Of course they did — they always enjoy a chance to pile on Israel, the details being utterly unimportant. In the Middle East, several states were quick to welcome the decision.
Jordan and Turkey reared up on their hind legs to say stupidly nasty things. The ICC’s warrants came some thirteen months after the Hamas terror group invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
Foreign minister nixes visit by Dutch counterpart after he endorses ICC warrants
[IsraelTimes] Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Thursday said he had canceled a planned visit to Israel next week by his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, after the latter said the Netherlands would obey arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
“Minister Sa’ar expressed his disappointment, in the name of the government of Israel and the people of Israel, over his announcement in the Dutch parliament following the decision of the International Criminal Court in the Hague,” Sa’ar’s office said in a statement following a discussion between the two men.
“In the discussion, it was agreed that the visit by the Dutch foreign minister to Israel that had been planned for next Monday — would not take place,” the statement said.
Hebrew media outlets reported Thursday that Israel suspects there may be more arrest warrants on the way, including in relation to activities in the West Bank, especially in light of expected decisions by the UN and the International Court of Justice regarding Israel’s policy there.
White House says US will not execute arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant
‘Fundamentally rejecting’ ICC decision, US says it’s discussing next steps with Israel and allies
Czech PM slams ICC ruling for putting democratic leaders on par with terrorists
Italy says it would arrest Netanyahu if he came to country, after ICC warrant
Canada will abide by all rulings of international courts, says Trudeau
Palestinian Authority says ICC arrest warrants for Israeli officials sign of ‘hope’
Gallant on ICC issuance of arrest warrant against him: Court legitimizes murder of babies, rape of women
UK respects ICC’s independence, but rejects moral equivalence between Israel and terror groups
Hungary, Argentina blast ICC decision; Italy says it’s still reviewing it; Turkey hails arrest warrants
Trump’s next national security adviser: Expect strong response to ICC’s antisemitic bias come January
Arab-majority Hadash party backs ICC decision, saying PM, Gallant have to pay for ‘destruction of Gaza, mass murder’
| Update from the Times of Israel at 10:50a.m.ET — Britain’s ruling Labour Party has second thoughts: |
Indicating it could arrest Netanyahu, UK gov’t says it will always comply with international ‘legal obligations’
Hungarian PM Orban invites Netanyahu on official visit after ICC warrant
Report: Incoming Trump administration looking at sanctions against ICC officials, 
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