ICC warrants for Netanyahu 'rare chance at justice': HRW official

The associate EU advocacy director at Human Rights Watch called the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant a “rare chance at justice.”

"This is a rare chance at justice for horrendous crimes in the region – crimes that have thrived on decades of impunity," Claudio Francavilla told Anadolu.

He expressed concern that EU countries have not responded with a unified voice to the court's decision, adding: "The Court's decision is legal, not political. What's political is the attacks the Court has received for simply doing its job."

The arrest warrants align with the findings of Human Rights Watch, several Israeli, Palestinian, and international NGOs, and UN institutions regarding grave crimes committed during the conflict, Francavilla said, adding that they are also consistent with the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) binding orders in the genocide case filed by South Africa.

Francavilla noted that, as in May when the ICC prosecutor requested the arrest warrants, several EU member states reacted "poorly or ambiguously" to the decision.

However, he pointed out that the majority of EU countries have confirmed their intention to execute the warrants, “including most of those who were regrettably critical of the decision.”

"Unsurprisingly, the worst reaction came from Hungary, whose Prime Minister Orban went as far as inviting Netanyahu to Hungary, promising he'd grant him impunity. This would be a clear breach of Hungary's obligations as an ICC member and further undermine the EU's declining credibility as a principled and international law-abiding bloc," Francavilla added.

- Call for EU members

Francavilla urged the EU and its member states to cooperate with the ICC. "The EU and all its countries must be 'crystal clear' that they will cooperate with the ICC and fulfill the obligations they assumed when they ratified the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty."

He emphasized the need for the EU to support the integrity and independence of the ICC, stating that they should be prepared to adopt all necessary measures to protect the court from possible sanctions and attacks.

EU members Ireland, Belgium, France, Slovenia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, and Norway have stated they will abide by the resolution, while Germany said it would continue to assess its implications. Hungary has refused to comply.

The ICC issued the arrest warrants last week for Netanyahu and Gallant "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 Oct. 2023 until at least 20 May 2024" in Gaza.

Israel's genocidal onslaught in Gaza has continued since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, a Palestinian resistance group. In response, Israel's actions have killed more than 44,200 people, mostly women and children.

The offensive has displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza, and a blockade has caused severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, pushing the population to the brink of starvation.

Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its brutal war on Gaza.