Reacting to the International Criminal Court's issuance of an arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister

(CLO) On Thursday (December 21), the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in his administration, as well as Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the conflict in Gaza.

In their decision, ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, repression and starvation as a weapon of war in a "systematic and widespread attack on the civilian population in Gaza".

The judges said there were also reasonable grounds to believe that the blockade of Gaza and the shortages of food, water, electricity, fuel and medical supplies “have created living conditions calculated to cause destruction to a section of the civilian population in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of civilians, including children, from malnutrition and dehydration”.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Photo: Reuters

While Israel has fiercely denounced the ruling, Gazans have expressed hope that it will help end the violence and bring those responsible for war crimes to justice. Hamas has also welcomed the arrest warrant, saying it is a first step towards justice.

The arrest warrant for Hamas leader Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif and believed to have been killed by Israel, was issued on charges of orchestrating the October 7 massacre in Israel that led to the Gaza war, as well as rape and hostage-taking.

The United States, Israel’s main backer, is not a member of the ICC and has said it “fundamentally opposes” the move. “We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s hasty request for an arrest warrant and the troubling flaws in the process that led to this decision,” a National Security Council spokesman said.

World powers such as Russia, China and India have also not signed on to the ICC - an organization supported by the entire European Union, Australia, Canada, Britain, Brazil, Japan and dozens of African and Latin American countries.

The ICC does not have its own police force to make arrests and relies on its 124 member states. "We rely on their cooperation in this situation, as in all situations," ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the decision was not political but a decision taken by the court and therefore needed to be respected and implemented. “The tragedy in Gaza must end,” he said.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also said the ICC's decision must be implemented, adding that Palestinians deserved justice after what he called Israel's "war crimes" in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp of the Netherlands, where the ICC is based, said his country would act on arrest warrants for people on its territory and would not engage in "unnecessary" contacts.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close associate of US President-elect Donald Trump, had the opposite view, saying: "The court is a dangerous joke. It is time for the US Senate to act and punish this agency...".

Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, AJ)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nhung-phan-ung-truoc-viec-toa-an-hinh-su-quoc-te-ban-hanh-lenh-bat-thu-tuong-israel-post322349.html