ICC warrants are binding, the EU cannot pick and choose, says EU’s Borrell

by Michele Kambas

NICOSIA (Reuters) – European Union governments cannot pick and choose whether to issue arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for two Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander, an EU foreign policy chief said on Saturday.

The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged crimes against humanity.

All EU member states signed the treaty establishing the ICC, called the Rome Statute.

Most EU states have said they will meet their obligations under the law if necessary, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he will not face any danger if he does so.

“The states that have signed the Rome convention are obliged to use the court’s decision. It is not optional,” said Josep Borrell, the EU’s top official, during a visit to Cyprus at a meeting for peace activists in Israel and Palestine.

Those same obligations were also binding on countries wishing to join the EU, he said.

“It would be great if the newcomers have a responsibility that the current members don’t fulfill,” he told Reuters.

The United States rejected the ICC’s decision and Israel said the ICC’s move was anti-Semitic.

“Every time someone disagrees with the policy of one Israeli government – (they are) accused of being anti-Christian,” said Borrell, whose term as EU foreign policy chief ends this month.

“I have the right to criticize the decisions of the Israeli government, be it Mr. Netanyahu or anyone else, without being accused of anti-Semitism. This is unacceptable. Enough is enough.”

Israel’s 13-month campaign in Gaza has killed about 44,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly all of the area’s population while creating a humanitarian crisis, Gaza officials say.

Israel launched the attack after an attack led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, and more than 250 others were taken hostage, Israel said.

In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant were guilty of acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a “widespread and systematic attack on the civilians of Gaza”.

Masri’s warrant lists charges of mass murder during the Oct. 7 attack. Israel says it killed Masri.

(Reporting by Michele Kambas, Editing by Timothy Heritage)