The International Criminal Court (ICC) last week issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister, as well as the country’s former defense minister Yoav Gallant. The two are accused of having contributed to war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, but he is said to have been killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza in July.
Israel has called the arrest warrant shameful and anti-Semitic, and US President Joe Biden has called it outrageous.
The United States has not joined the ICC, but countries that have ratified the court’s statutes have committed to apprehending those on whom arrest warrants are issued.
– We must agree on this, said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who hosted the G7 countries’ foreign ministers on Monday.
Not agree
The Italian coalition government is divided in its view of the ICC’s arrest warrants, but Tajani hopes for agreement.
– We have talked about this. Let’s see if we can contribute to a joint statement on this, we are now working to agree, he says after Monday’s meeting.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has emphasized that the arrest warrant is binding on the member states.
– This is not a political decision. It is a decision made by an international criminal court. The decision must be respected and implemented, he says.
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Obliged
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide stressed in May that Norway is obliged to arrest any person for whom the ICC has issued an arrest warrant.
When the arrest warrant against Netanyahu became known, he chose a slightly more cautious wording.
– It is important that the ICC carries out its mandate in a good way. I have confidence that the court will process the case further based on basic guarantees of legal certainty, said a statement from the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
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