Israel-Palestine – France must commit to executing the arrest warrants of the International Criminal Court

Saturday 23rd November 2024 12:32 AM

The Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on November 21, 2024 against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Deif) for “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Israel and Palestine since October 7, 2023.”

Our organizations call on France to commit to arresting the people targeted by these arrest warrants if they go to French territory, to cooperate with the ICC in order to ensure that the perpetrators of crimes are confronted to justice and to support the Court against the pressures which are taking place and are likely to continue against it. The issuance of these warrants further reinforces the need to take sanctions against the Israeli authorities.

We recall that States Parties to the Rome Statute have “the obligation to cooperate fully with the ICC (Article 86 of the Statute) and to ensure that their national legislation provides for procedures to execute all requests for cooperation from the Court made under Chapter IX of the Statute (article 88 of the Statute)”

We welcome the declaration of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 20, according to which France “supports the International Criminal Court, its independence, and the fight against impunity in all situations” The issuance of these arrest warrants is a major step to end the impunity that has reigned for years in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. We are now waiting, more than declarations, for resolute action from France to execute these arrest warrants.

The status of the International Criminal Court (ICC), created to punish the perpetrators of the most serious international crimes, i.e. the crime of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression , applies to any individual regardless of their official capacity [1].

It is necessary that those responsible for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, whether part of Hamas or the Israeli government, be held accountable for their actions. According to the UN, more than 43,972 Palestinians and 1,500 Israelis have died since October 7, 2023.

Signatories:

Platform of French NGOs for Palestine, Association France Palestine Solidarité, AJPF, AURDIP, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Cimade, Chrétiens de la Méditerranée, Human Rights League, MRAP, Pax Christi France, French Jewish Union for Peace .