Washington “categorically rejects” the ICC arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant; EU says they must be “enforced”

“The United States categorically rejects the Court’s decision [pénale internationale] to issue arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials”reacted on Thursday, November 21, a spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House. “We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor's eagerness to seek arrest warrants and by the troubling errors in the process that led to this decision”he added in a reaction sent to Agence France-Presse, repeating that, according to Washington, “the ICC did not have legal jurisdiction in this case”.

Donald Trump has not yet reacted to these arrest warrants, but his future national security adviser, Mike Waltz, has promised a “strong response” au “anti-Semitic bias” of the ICC when the president-elect is sworn in in January.

The Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant “for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed at least from October 8, 2023 until May 20, 2024”. She also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, head of the armed wing of Palestinian Hamas “for crimes against humanity and alleged war crimes committed in the territory of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine since at least October 7, 2023”date of the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement against Israel from the Gaza Strip which triggered the current war.

The ICC's decision theoretically limits Mr. Netanyahu's travel, since any of the Court's 124 member states would be obliged to arrest him on its territory.

“It’s not a political decision”

Mr. Netanyahu immediately described“anti-Semitic”in a press release released by his office, the decision of the court, which is, he said, “comparable to a Dreyfus trial today which will end in the same way”. Convicted of espionage, degraded and sent to prison at the end of the 19th century^e century in France, the Jewish French captain Alfred Dreyfus was exonerated and rehabilitated a few years later. The affair deeply divided society and revealed the anti-Semitism of part of the population.

This decision “puts the State of Israel and the murderous leaders of Hamas on the same level”said Mr. Gallant on X. She “sets a dangerous precedent against the right to self-defense and moral warfare, and encourages deadly terrorism. »

“It’s a dark day for [la CPI]which has lost all legitimacy »judged for his part the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Saar, on “behaved like a political toy in the service of the most extreme elements working to undermine security and stability in the Middle East”he added, accusing the ICC of having issued “absurd ordinances without having the authority” against MM. Netanyahu and Gallant.

“It’s a dark day (…) for humanity »wrote on X the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, for whom the “shameful decision of the ICC (…) mocks the sacrifice of all those who have fought for justice since the Allied victory over Nazism [en 1945] until today. »

“This is not a political decision. It is a decision of a court, of a court of justice, of an international court of justice. And the court’s decision must be respected and applied”said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, during a press conference in Amman with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi. “This decision is binding, and all States, all States parties to the statute of the court, including all members of the European Union, are required to implement this decision of the court”said Mr. Borrell again.

The Palestinian Authority, for its part, welcomed the ICC's decision, saying it represented a “sign of hope and confidence in international law”according to a statement released by the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

According to Israel, Mohammed Deif is dead

The ICC said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that MM. Netanyahu and Gallant were “criminally responsible” of the war crime of “starvation” as a method of warfare, as well as the crimes against humanity of “murder,” “persecution” and “other inhumane acts.” The ICC said the two men “also bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”. Ils « ont (…) knowingly deprived the civilian population of Gaza of things essential to their survival”including food, water, medicine, fuel and electricity.

Regarding the war crime of “starvation”, the court declared that “the lack of food, water, electricity and fuel, as well as specific medical supplies, has created living conditions calculated to lead to the destruction of part of the civilian population of Gaza”. This led to the deaths of civilians, including children, due to malnutrition and dehydration, the Court further wrote. “The chamber was unable to determine that all the elements of the crime against humanity of “extermination” were present”underlined the ICC, adding however that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of “murder” had been committed against these victims.

According to the Jewish state, Mohammed Deif was killed by a strike on July 13 in southern Gaza, but Hamas denied his death. An arrest warrant was issued against him because the ICC was unable to determine whether he was dead, the court said.

Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the ICC, a permanent court charged with prosecuting and trying individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Founded in 2002, this institution, which today has 124 member states, has only handed down a handful of convictions since its creation.