“The United States categorically rejects the decision of the (International Criminal) Court to issue arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council reacted this Thursday, November 21.
“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s eagerness to seek arrest warrants and by the worrying errors in the process that led to this decision,” he added in a response sent to AFP, repeating that, according to Washington, “the ICC had no legal capacity”. competence in this matter”.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants this Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and the head of Hamas’s armed wing, Mohammed Deif, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. humanity.
“Anti-Semitic hatred” according to Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu immediately called the court’s decision “anti-Semitic.” “Israel rejects with disgust the absurd actions and false accusations against it by the [CPI]”whose judges” are motivated by anti-Semitic hatred towards Israel, “adds a press release released by his office.
This arrest warrant theoretically limits the Israeli Prime Minister’s travel, since any of the court’s 124 member states would be obliged to arrest him on their territory.
This arrest warrant “is extremely important. It means that the victims’ voices are heard,” said Yael Vias Gvirsman, who represents the families of 300 Israeli victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
Gaza’s civilian population “deprived of things essential for their survival”
The ICC said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu and Gallant were “criminally responsible” for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
The two men, according to the ICC, “are criminally responsible as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”
“They intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population of Gaza of things essential for their survival,” including food, water, medicine, fuel and electricity, the court added.
This situation “created living conditions intended to cause the destruction of a part of the civilian population of Gaza,” according to the ICC, adding that it led to the deaths of civilians, including children.
“Based on the elements presented by the prosecution that cover the period until May 20, 2024, the court could not determine that all the elements of the crime against humanity of extermination were present,” the ICC added. However, he stated that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of murder had been committed against these victims.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, declared that these arrest warrants must be “respected and applied.” “It is not a political decision. It is a decision of a court, a court of justice, an international court of justice. And the court’s decision must be respected and applied,” said Josep Borrell during a press conference in Amman with his Jordanian counterpart, Aymane Safadi.
As for the head of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammed Deif, Israel said it killed him in a July 13 attack in southern Gaza, although Hamas denies his death. An arrest warrant was issued against him because the ICC prosecutor could not determine whether Deif was dead, the court said.
Source: BFM TV
