Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy, said that EU members will have to arrest Netanyahu after the ICC warrant, as all countries in the EU, except Turkey and Ukraine, are bound by the Rome Statute.
Will Israel pass a Hague Invasion Act of its own eventually?
Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy, made remarks on Tuesday regarding the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials about suspected war crimes in Gaza. In the statement, he emphasized that compliance will be legally mandatory for all members of the European Union.
He clarified that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant would be arrested if they went to any country in Europe.
“I take note of the decision of the ICC Prosecutor to apply for warrants of arrest before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Yoav Gallant,” Borrell stated, referring to the Hamas leaders listed alongside Netanyahu.
“The mandate of the ICC, as an independent international institution, is to prosecute the most serious crimes under international law,” Borrell stated on X. He stated that “All States that have ratified the ICC statutes are bound to execute the Court’s decisions.” He said that the EU had “noted” the global court’s ruling.
Europe as a whole, except Turkey and Ukraine, is bound by the Rome Statute and must capture those who are considered ‘wanted’ by the ICC.
According to the ICC:
The ICC can prosecute crimes against humanity, which are serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population. The 15 forms of crimes against humanity listed in the Rome Statute include offences such as murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement – particularly of women and children, sexual slavery, torture, apartheid and deportation.
This might affect the destinations that Israeli leaders visit across the globe. In the case of destination countries that are mandated by the Rome Statute to make an arrest, it most definitely generates diplomatic pressure to refrain from doing so.
While Israeli authorities have continued to express their outrage and even label the court’s judgment as “antisemitic,” the White House has stated that it “rejects” the court’s ruling.
The Israel-Hamas conflict in 2014 was the very beginning of the ICC’s probe. However, South Africa also brought a new war crimes case after October 7 and Israel’s invasion of Gaza, which has the backing of nations like Turkey but particularly a number of the Global South.
Ironically, Netanyahu is now a “wanted” man alongside Vladimir Putin after a Hague-based court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president in March 2023 due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that the chief prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, disclosed that the ICC seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas leader Sinwar for crimes against humanity.
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