Mexico City. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party welcomed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, calling it a done deal. in favor of “humanity”.
Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan’s party, said on the social network X that Netanyahu and Gallant “will be held accountable for genocide.” Celik also criticized Israeli authorities who called the court’s decision anti-Semitic.
Turkey is one of the harshest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and has submitted a formal request to join a genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel at the UN International Court of Justice.
For his part, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldcamp, whose country is the seat of the International Criminal Court, confirmed that the Netherlands would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he steps on Dutch soil.
“The government’s line is clear. “We are obliged to cooperate with the ICC… we adhere 100 percent to the Rome Statute,” he said Thursday in response to a question in Parliament.
The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, one of the most critical and forceful leaders against Israel’s war actions in the Gaza Strip, supported the decision of the International Criminal Court in a message from X, considering that it is “logical” because Netanyahu “ “He is a genocide.”
Petro broke relations with Israel in May after an escalation of diplomatic tension over allegations that Israel has committed “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
The Colombian president urged compliance with the ICC ruling and urged the US president to support it: “If Biden ignores this order, he will simply lead the world to barbarism. “Western Europe must regain its independence in international politics and act to comply with the court order.”
Other officials were more cautious.
In France, a foreign ministry spokesman said he supported the International Criminal Court prosecutor, but declined to comment when asked specifically whether France would arrest Netanyahu if he set foot on French soil.
“Currently, the fight against impunity is our priority. We ratified the ICC statute in 2000 and have consistently supported the Court’s actions. Our response will adhere to those principles,” Christopher Lemoine told reporters at a news conference.
He added that the arrest warrants were “a complex legal matter… it is a situation that requires many legal precautions.”
In Italy, the foreign and justice ministers have not responded to emails requesting their comments on whether Italy, a member of the ICC and host of the Rome conference that gave birth to the Court, would comply with the arrest warrants.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosted Netanyahu in March 2023, and has strongly supported Israel since October 7, while also providing humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose role is primarily symbolic, called the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a dark day for justice.” A dark day for humanity.”
In an X post, he said the Court “has chosen the side of terrorism and evil over democracy and freedom, and has turned the justice system into a human shield for Hamas’ crimes against humanity.”
Israel Katz, Israel’s new defense minister, said the decision is “a moral disgrace, totally tainted by anti-Semitism, and drags the international judicial system to an unprecedented low.” He said he “serves Iran, the head of the snake, and its representatives.”
Benny Gantz, a retired general and political rival of Netanyahu, also condemned the decision, saying it showed “moral blindness” and was “a shameful stain of historic proportions that will never be forgotten.”
Hamas welcomed the International Criminal Court’s decision, calling it an “important and historic precedent” after what it called decades of injustice at the hands of a “fascist occupation.”
The statement does not refer to the arrest warrants issued against the leaders of the insurgent group.
Hamas called on all nations to “cooperate with the Court to bring the Zionist war criminals, Netanyahu and Gallant, to justice and to work immediately to stop the crimes of genocide against innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip.”
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