the G7 countries, except the United States, “will respect their obligations” – Libération

With the exception of the United States, which does not recognize the International Criminal Court, the members of the G7 announced this Tuesday, November 26 that they would arrest the Israeli Prime Minister if he appeared on one of their territories.

The G7 countries – with the exception of the United States – announced on Tuesday, November 26, that they will respect their obligations “respective” regarding the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the head of the armed wing of Hamas Palestinian, Mohammed Deif.

“We reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will respect our respective obligations”declared the heads of diplomacy in a press release published after a meeting near Rome. Unlike the other members of the group (Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan and Italy), the United States does not recognize the ICC.

War crimes and crimes against humanity

The International Criminal Court, to which Israel has not joined, issued arrest warrants last week against Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the head of the armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas, Mohammed Deif, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“We emphasize that there can be no equivalence between the terrorist group Hamas and the State of Israel”the G7 countries also declared. A source close to the negotiations of this summit, under the Italian presidency, affirmed that the wording of the communiqué had been weighed with a trebuchet to satisfy all the countries in the group and reach agreement on the smallest “common denominator”. “But what was said during the discussions was much broader and more strategic than what appears in the text”said this source.

Apart from a visit to the United States this year, Benjamin Netanyahu has not visited a G7 country since the start of the war against Hamas in Gaza, triggered by the attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement in Israel on October 7, 2023 .