The chorus is as colourful as its arguments are flimsy and dehumanising: from French writer Bernard-Henri Levy, who claims the ICC can only prosecute in countries without a “proper judicial system” to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham declaring war on the ICC and any nation that dares to implement its warrants.
The decision by the international criminal court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defence minister, for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza has huge implications for Israel and Palestine, for international justice and the rules-based global order that the UK and its allies are pledged to uphold.
The court has accused them of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza, which followed Hamas' October 7, 2023, surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw the abduction of 250 others.
All EU member states are signatories to the ICC's founding treaty, called the Rome Statute.
