Gaza, 22 May 2024 (TDI): Reactions have been pouring in from the dignitaries around the world over ICC prosecutor’s statement.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has submitted a formal application to the Court demanding issuance of arrest warrants.
Five Palestinian and Israeli leaders have been nominated in the application including three Hamas leaders and Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Minister.
Several countries have expressed support including South Africa, Spain and Belgium.
Nevertheless, others have vehemently condemned the attempts by the Prosecutor including Israel’s staunch ally US, UK, Poland and Germany.
Also Read: Israeli leaders face ICC arrest warrant application
World Support for ICC Prosecutor
Hadja Lahbib, Belgian Foreign Minister has expressed support regarding ICC prosecutor’s work.
“Crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators. Belgium supports the work of the ICC. The request submitted by the court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, for arrest warrants against both Hamas and Israeli officials is an important step in the investigation of the situation in Palestine.”
Likewise, France has supported the International Criminal Court, its independence, and the fight against impunity in all situations as declared by its foreign ministry in an official statement.
In the same vein, Spain reiterates support for independence and impartiality of the ICC.
Criticism and Denouncements
On the other hand, the US President Joe Biden declared the application as “outrageous.”
“Let me be clear: Whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence none between Israel and Hamas,” he reiterated.
Similarly, “an attempt to show that the prime minister of Israel and the leaders of terrorist organisations are the same, and the involvement of international institutions in this, is unacceptable,” criticized the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in a news conference.
The United Kingdom Prime Minister’s spokesperson pinpointed that “the UK, as with other countries, does not yet recognise Palestine as a state and Israel is not a state party to the Rome Statute”.
Seriously racist declarations have been accounted by Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
“The ICC Chief Prosecutor’s proposal to issue an arrest warrant for the representatives of a democratically elected government together with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organisation is appalling and completely unacceptable.”
Moreover, Germany has pinpointed certain legal aspects of the case through a statement shared by the foreign office.
“The court will have to answer a number of difficult questions, including the question of its jurisdiction and the complementarity of investigations between constitutional states affected, such as Israel,” the statement reads.
Furthermore, it criticized the “simultaneous application for arrest warrants” for the Palestinian and Israeli leaders as giving “the false impression of an equation.”
