For the European Union, they must be applied, for the United States, it is “a categorical rejection”. Mohammed Deif, the head of the armed wing of Hamas, Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli Minister of Defense and especially Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the Hebrew State, are the subject of arrest warrants issued by the Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In Israel, there is shock and incomprehension. Not a single Israeli met on Thursday, November 21 understands the decision of international justice.
For the Prime Minister's outspoken supporters, like Zalman, there is no doubt: Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant are innocent, and unsurprisingly, for this Israeli-American, international justice has no reason to exist. “It is clear that the International Court of Justice, like many international organizations, has exceeded its prerogatives, Zalman estimates. Judges think that with globalization, they rule the world. But what is most important to me as an Israeli who came from America 40 years ago is that the United States provides unconditional support for Israel.”
“And ultimately the threats from the International Court of Justice don’t matter. Good luck to them!”
Zalman, supporter of Benjamin Netanyahuat franceinfo
Itaï does not like Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he nicknames Bibi, like everyone else here. But even if, according to him, most Israelis oppose the prime minister's policies, this is not really the issue of the moment. “More generally, what is happening in court there is unfair because they are only spreading a bad image of Israel, he says. This is no longer a question that revolves around Bibi. Everything that happens before the ICC is ridiculous, everything is against Israel and they have a bad perception of who we are.”
Layat, in his twenties, also did not vote for Netanyahu. And if the outside world does not understand Israel, it is because for it, the balance of power in the region is difficult to understand. “The Middle East is so complicated, she admits. And we cannot judge with European and Western values. It is up to us, the citizens, to determine responsibility for what happened. We must judge on the spot. The international community is not our allies, unfortunately.”
Like the overwhelming majority of Israelis, Layat supports the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, which she considers existential. And the massacre of October 7 gives, according to her, the right to the Jewish state to eradicate threats, whatever the price.
