Ottawa:
Following the UK’s lead, Canada has said it will “comply” with the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We will uphold international law and comply with all regulations and judgments of international tribunals,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
“This is who we are as Canadians,” he added.
The ICC on Thursday accused Israeli Prime Minister and Yoav Gallant of “crimes against humanity” committed since the start of the Israeli-Hamas war over a year ago in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian militants. An arrest warrant has been issued for the Minister of Defense.
A warrant was also issued to Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif.
Earlier on Friday, the British government indicated that Netanyahu could be arrested under an ICC arrest warrant if he traveled to the UK.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “The UK will always comply with its legal obligations under domestic law, and indeed international law.”
But he declined to be specific about whether British police would detain Netanyahu, telling reporters: “I don’t get into hypotheticals about individual cases.”
The United Kingdom and Canada are both members of the Five Eyes, an intelligence alliance made up of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Other countries that have agreed to abide by the ICC’s decision include Belgium, the European Union, France, Iran, Ireland, Jordan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey.
But the US, another key member of the Five Eyes, called the move “outrageous.” “It is outrageous that the ICC would issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
“Let me be clear once again: No matter what the ICC suggests, there is no equivalent relationship between Israel and Hamas. There is no such thing. We will always defend Israel against threats to our security. We support it,” the statement added.
However, the warrant was supported by US Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said that X “all launched indiscriminate attacks against civilians, causing unimaginable human suffering.”
“If the world does not abide by international law, we will descend into further barbarism,” he added.
Other countries expressing “no” to the ICC’s decision include Argentina, Austria and Hungary.
