Brussels – Zaytoun news
All EU member states “are under an obligation to execute arrest warrants issued by the ICC,” EU spokesperson Peter Stano told Anadolu Agency in a written statement on Thursday, specifically noting the warrants issued for two top Israeli officials in the ongoing war on Gaza.
Taking note of the arrest warrants, Stano wrote that the EU is “strongly committed to international criminal justice and the fight against impunity.”
The bloc supports the ICC and “the principles set out in the Rome Statute” – which founded the court – as well as the court’s “independence and impartiality,” Stano also said.
The ICC’s mandate is “to prosecute the most serious crimes under international law,” he said, stressing that all EU member states “that have ratified the Rome Statute … are under an obligation to execute arrest warrants issued by the ICC.”
The International Criminal Court (ICC), in a landmark move last week, issued arrest warrants for Israeli Occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, where more than 44,000 Palestinins have been killed since October 2023. Before his dismissal earlier this month, Gallant led the persecution of the ongoing war.
While some EU countries announced they would implement the warrants if the Israeli officials set foot on their territory, others were less clear, and one said there would be no arrests.
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