Washington, DC. Western countries are divided over the war crimes charges and arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the news agency AP, the US has rejected the arrest warrant.
But Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and Italy have said they will arrest Netanyahu if he comes to their countries. The US has said it cannot accept the ICC order. White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre has questioned the court’s decision-making process, calling it “hasty”. The US is not a member of the ICC.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crocietto has said his country will abide by ICC rules. He has rejected the ICC’s accusation that Hamas and Israel are the same, but he said Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to Italy. “We are bound by the rules,” he said.
Britain, as a member of the ICC, has also said it will arrest Netanyahu on its own soil. However, a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office has also said that there is no moral equivalence between Netanyahu and Hamas. He said that Israel has the right to defend itself.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also said that as a member of the ICC, it will abide by the rules. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has said that the rules will be followed 100 percent and that Netanyahu will be arrested as soon as he sets foot on Dutch soil.
Netanyahu has called the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant in his name an anti-Semitic decision. He says the ICC has falsely accused him of deliberately targeting civilians. The ICC has also issued an arrest warrant in the name of Hamas commander Mohammed Deif. According to Israel, Deif died in an attack it carried out in July. Agency