Afrasianet - UN Special Rapporteur Yorgos Katrougalos says the failure to implement an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC ) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant is a "violation of international law".
The memo, issued on November 21, accuses both Netanyahu and Galant of war crimes and crimes against humanity in light of the more than year-long genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Katrogalos noted that the ICC's decision to arrest the Israeli prime minister and his former defense minister "clearly shows that there are crimes being committed in Palestine."
France has previously claimed that ICC decisions cannot apply to heads of state and government, and claimed that Netanyahu's arrest cannot be implemented.
For his part, the UN rapporteur stressed that he "did not hear such a statement from France when a similar accusation was made against Russian President Vladimir Putin," wondering why.
French Foreign Minister Jean Barrow said on November 27, according to Anatolia, that "Netanyahu can benefit from immunity under international law," noting that Paris' position on the issue of the International Criminal Court will not serve its interests or the interests of Europe.
Duty arrest
Katrougalos pointed out that the mission of the International Criminal Court is to bring to justice influential people and heads of government who commit crimes, stressing that countries that will not implement the ICC decision "violate international legitimacy" and that "any person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued must be arrested if he is on the territory of a country that has signed and ratified the Rome Statute."
"Acting differently would be a new violation of international law, such as continuing to sell weapons to Israel," he said, noting that countries that do not abide by ICC decisions "will be complicit in the crimes committed."
Katrogalos stressed to Anadolu Agency the need to protect the UN system, expressing concern about Israel's statements towards the international organization, and said that "the only thing that separates international law from complete chaos is the existence of the United Nations, and they must protect it at all costs."
The court's decision came after ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20 in a statement that he was seeking to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant on charges of "war crimes".
Khan also again asked the court in August to expedite the issuance of arrest warrants against them, as Israel continues its massacres in the Palestinian territories, ignoring the UN Security Council's resolution to end the war immediately and the International Court of Justice's orders to take measures to prevent genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.