ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu: France required to arrest Israeli PM

France is in "the obligation" to cooperate with the International Criminal Court, like 123 other countries, to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, accused ; of crimes against humanity.

What will France do if Benjamin Netanyahu goes to his role ? The position of the French government, the Elysée and the Quai d'Orsay are very clear: Paris “supports the International Criminal Court, its independence, and the fight against impunity in all situations”. A press release had even been drafted expressly to explain this, when the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, had requested arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

This Thursday, November 21, the International Criminal Court followed the request of its prosecutor and issued arrest warrants against the Israeli Prime Minister, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the leader of Hamas, Mohammed De'iuml;f. France is therefore required to arrest these three personalities (Mohammed De'iuml;f was announced dead by Israel) if they travel to the territory.

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The International Criminal Court gave in a lengthy press release published on its website the reasons that led it to issue these arrest warrants. It indicated that it had “reasonable grounds to believe” that Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant “bear criminal responsibility for the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare.” The court also suspects the Israeli prime minister and his former minister of “crimes against humanity”, specifying that there are reasons to believe that their responsibility is committed for: “murder, persecution and other inhumane acts”, and for “attacks intentionally directed against the civilian population”.

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15:01 – Nétanyhaou reacts to the arrest warrant and calls the ICC “anti-Semitic”

The Israeli Prime Minister reacted to the decision of the International Criminal Court, in a statement, comparing the arrest warrants to a new “Dreyfus trial”. The Israeli Prime Minister also described the Court as “anti-Semitic”. “Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and mendacious actions and accusations” of the ICC, describing it as a “politically biased and discriminatory” institution. Benjamin Nétanyhaou believes that there is no “more just” war than the one waged by Israel since October 7, 2023, “after the greatest massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.” Hamas, for its part, hailed it as an “important step towards justice.”