EU member states have an obligation to execute the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu

AA / Bruxelles / Selen Valente

All EU member states “have the obligation to execute arrest warrants issued by the ICC,” EU spokesperson Peter Stano told Anadolu on Thursday, referring in particular to the warrants issued against two senior Israeli officials in connection with the war against the Gaza Strip.

Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated in the Gaza Strip, where more than 44,000 people have been killed since October 2023. Before being removed from office earlier this month, Gallant served as head of persecutions carried out as part of the ongoing war.

While some EU countries have announced that they would execute arrest warrants if Israeli officials visit their territory, others have been less clear, with one saying that there would be no arrests.

Noting the arrest warrant, Stano said the EU was “firmly committed to international criminal justice and the fight against impunity”.

The Union supports the ICC and “the principles set out in the Rome Statute” – founder of the Court – as well as the “independence and impartiality” of the Court, Stano also declared.

The ICC’s mandate is “to prosecute the most serious crimes under international law”, he said, emphasizing that all EU member states “that have ratified the Rome Statute … are obliged to execute arrest warrants issued by the ICC.

Israel has been waging a genocidal war against the Gaza Strip since October 2023, leaving nearly 44,300 people dead, mostly women and children, and more than 104,000 injured.

The Gaza genocide, ongoing for the second year in a row, has drawn growing international condemnation, with international officials and institutions calling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries a deliberate attempt to destroy a population. .

Israel is also being prosecuted for the crime of genocide before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for its murderous war against the Gaza Strip.

*Translated from English by Mourad Belhaj

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