Israel Gaza: Netanyahu ICC war crimes arrest warrant ‘outrageous’ says Biden:
US President Joe Biden has called an International Criminal Court war crimes arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister “outrageous”.
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu’s now sacked defence minister Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas commander, Mohammed Deif, who Israel says was killed in July.
Judges said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe the three men bore “criminal responsibility” for crimes during the war between Israel and Hamas.Europe and the US were split in their response to the warrant, with several European countries saying they respect ICC decisions. The British government indicated that Netanyahu faces arrest if he travels to the UK.
Biden said in a statement that “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
Biden is correct. There is no equivalence at all, but this points up the increasing rift between the US and the EU on matters beyond the Middle East. The EU is presently out of their minds on a lot (though not all) Apple-related matters, and it’s been vexing to see, as I prefer to the EU as less prone to the excesses of the US. Not clear that holds true any longer.
Returning to the ICC, it’s long been the case that heads of state are immune from prosecution for actions taken in the course of their duties. There’s a reason the US and Israel never signed on to recognize the ICC’s authority.