KN. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that if the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for top Israeli officials over their alleged war crimes in Gaza, all EU member states will be legally forced to oblige.
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan applied for warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant – as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh – accusing them of “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
The European Union has taken “note” of the move, Borrell acknowledged in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“The mandate of the ICC, as an independent international institution, is to prosecute the most serious crimes under international law,” Borrell wrote, insisting that “All States that have ratified the ICC statutes are bound to execute the Court’s decisions.”
Even though the prosecutor has requested arrest warrants, it may take months of deliberations before a three-judge panel decides whether to issue them or not.
Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court, but the State of Palestine joined the organization in 2015. The US was one of the creators of the ICC, but Congress never ratified the Rome Statute. Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and dozens of other countries also do not accept the court’s jurisdiction.
However, some 124 countries around the globe have signed and ratified the Rome Statute, including all EU member states and all candidates, except Ukraine and Türkiye. If warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant are issued, it could severely complicate the Israeli leader’s ability to travel abroad.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) of setting a “dangerous precedent” after its top prosecutor, Karim Khan, requested arrest warrants for the Israeli leader and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
In a statement, Netanyahu branded the decision by the ICC prosecutor “absurd,” claiming that it “undermines every democracy’s right to defend itself.” He also insisted that the court has “no jurisdiction over Israel.”
Along with Netanyahu and Gallant, Khan is also seeking arrest warrants for three top Hamas officials, including the Palestinian armed group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, the commander of its military wing – al-Qassam Brigades – Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, and the chief of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.
Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize its jurisdiction, but the State of Palestine joined the organization in 2015. If warrants against Netanyahu and Hamas leaders are issued, any of the court’s 124 member states will be obliged to arrest them if they set foot on their territory.