{"id":18503,"date":"2024-11-23T15:46:22","date_gmt":"2024-11-23T15:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18503"},"modified":"2024-11-23T15:46:22","modified_gmt":"2024-11-23T15:46:22","slug":"icc-warrants-are-binding-european-union-cannot-pick-and-choose-eus-borrell-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18503","title":{"rendered":"ICC warrants are binding, European Union cannot pick and choose, EU's Borrell says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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European Union governments cannot pick and choose whether to execute arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against two Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell<\/a> said on Saturday.<\/p>\n

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The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri (Mohammad Deif)<\/a> for alleged crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n

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All EU member states are signatories to the ICC’s founding treaty, called the Rome Statute.<\/p>\n

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Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban<\/a> has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so.<\/p>\n

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“The states that signed the Rome convention are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It’s not optional,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said during a visit to Cyprus for a workshop of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.<\/p>\n

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THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court in The Hague. (credit: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW\/REUTERS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Those same obligations were also binding on countries aspiring to join the EU, he said.<\/p>\n

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“It would be very funny that the newcomers have an obligation that current members don’t fulfill,” he told Reuters.<\/p>\n

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While Borrell welcomes ICC ruling, US rejects decision<\/h3>\n

The US rejected the ICC’s decision, and Israel said the ICC move was antisemitic.<\/p>\n

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“Every time someone disagrees with the policy of one Israeli government – (they are) being accused of antisemitism,” said Borrell, whose term as EU foreign policy chief ends this month.<\/p>\n

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“I have the right to criticize the decisions of the Israeli government, be it Mr Netanyahu or someone else, without being accused of antisemitism. This is not acceptable. That’s enough.”<\/p>\n

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In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza.”<\/p>\n

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The warrant for Mohammad Deif lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Israel says it has killed Deif. <\/p>\n


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