Groups urge French government to enforce Netanyahu, Gallant ICC arrest warrants
Eleven organisations have urged the French government to end “the impunity that has prevailed for years” by committing to enforce arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence chief, Yoav Gallant, by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a joint statement, the groups urged the French government to support the ICC “against the pressure” it is facing and to live up to its obligations under international law and arrest war crimes suspects Netanyahu and Gallant should they travel to France.
“The issuance of these arrest warrants is a major step towards ending the impunity that has prevailed for years in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory,” the organisations said.
“We now expect, more than statements, a resolute action by France to execute these arrest warrants.”
Turkey’s Erdogan welcomes ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed his support for the ICC arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
“Countries that make speeches about democracy and human rights are fuelling the oppression with their support for Israel instead of trying to stop the massacres and genocide,” he said at a civil society event in Istanbul, Turkey.
“The blood of those martyred and injured in Palestine has spilled not only on their killers but also on those who did not stop them,” Erdogan said.
He accused the international community, including the media, of “turning a blind eye to the crimes against humanity committed in Palestine, Lebanon and many other regions”.
ICC warrants are binding, EU states cannot pick and choose: Borrell
The European Union’s foreign policy chief has said that warrants by the International Criminal Court are binding for all of the bloc’s states.
“The members, the states who signed the Rome Convention, are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It is not optional,” he said, speaking at a conference in Cyprus.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban invited Netanyahu on Friday to visit the country but several other European nations said the Israeli prime minister would be detained if he set foot on their soil, following the issuing of an arrest warrant for him.
Reacting to Hungary’s decision, Borrell said: “What I can say is the arrest warrants issued by the court has to be implemented also by Hungary, also by Hungary, by all members of the European Union. And if they don’t, then there is a legal case of not fulfilment of the legal obligation.”
