By Anthony Dworkin, European Council on Foreign Relations, 21 November 2024

The International Criminal Court has issued a historic arrest warrant for Israel’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. European governments must defend the court’s independence and uphold international law

Problem

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. This is the first time that the court has issued a warrant for leader of a Western ally and represents the most dramatic step yet in the court’s involvement in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The court’s pre-trial chamber found there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity through the blocking of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. It also found there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant were responsible as superiors for the war crime of deliberately directing attacks on civilian populations on at least two occasions. The court also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Muhammad Deif. The Israeli army claims to have killed Deif in July, but his death has not been confirmed.

The arrest warrants mean that all member states of the ICC – including all EU member states, Norway, and the United Kingdom – are obliged to arrest the individuals concerned if they enter their territory. Several European countries including Ireland and the Netherlands have already said they will abide.

Solution

The arrest warrant against Netanyahu will bring intense political pressure on the ICC. As historic backers of the court and of the international rule of law, all European countries – even the most pro-Israel – should make clear that they support the court as an independent judicial body and that they will execute the arrest warrants. They should avoid any further statements that undermine the court or question its legitimacy, as Hungary’s foreign minister did in responding to the ICC’s announcement. Considering the strong European support for the March 2023 ICC arrest warrant against Russian president Vladimir Putin, such statements undermine European credibility.

The warrants should also change how European officials engage with Netanyahu in Israel or outside their own territory. In previous cases (as with former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, who was elected after a warrant had been issued against him) European officials have adopted a policy of avoiding non-essential contact with those indicted or facing an arrest warrant for international crimes. They should follow the same policy in this case.

Context

The ICC’s move is likely to generate strong criticism and possibly measures against the court from incoming US president Donald Trump, while the incumbent administration has already rejected the decision. In his first term, Trump issued sanctions against ICC officials after the court said it was investigating US actions in Afghanistan. Trump’s nominee for national security advisor, Mike Waltz, said after the arrest warrants were issued that there will be “a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC and UN come January.” The EU should prepare for a US attack on the ICC by making clear that it rejects any political pressure on the court or its officials and resist any US pressure to cut its own ties and support for the court.

Disclaimer

The European Council on Foreign Relations and CEMAS do not take collective positions. ECFR and CEMAS publications only represent the views of their individual authors.