Borrell: ICC Rulings Are Binding for EU Member States

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, emphasized on Saturday that rulings issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) are binding and EU member states cannot act selectively in this regard. Although all EU member states have signed the treaty establishing the ICC, some European leaders, such as Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, have stated that despite the ICC's arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu, he can visit Hungary. Borrell stated that EU member states are obligated to implement this court's decision, and compliance is not optional. He added that the court's requirements must also be enforced by other countries seeking to join the EU. According to Borrell, it would be 'very ridiculous' to ask new countries to adhere to a commitment that current members do not follow. Borrell further claimed that whenever someone opposes the policies of an Israeli government, they are accused of anti-Semitism. He asserted his right to criticize the decisions of the government led by Netanyahu or any other cabinet in Israel without being accused of anti-Semitism, as this approach is 'unacceptable.' The ICC's issuance of an arrest warrant for the Prime Minister and former Minister of Defense of Israel on Thursday, November 23, faced widespread backlash from U.S. officials and politicians. The U.S. President described the warrant as 'unjust' and stated, 'I clearly say there is no similarity between Israel's actions and Hamas's conduct, and the ICC has not made a correct comparison.' Joe Biden emphasized that 'we stand with Israel as always and will defend this country against threats to its security.' A spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House previously stated in a statement sent to the Persian section of Voice of America that 'the United States fundamentally rejects the court's decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials and is very concerned about the prosecutor's haste and the problematic errors in the process leading to this decision.' At the same time, Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the U.S. Senate, sharply criticized the ICC's arrest warrant for the Prime Minister and former Minister of Defense of Israel, calling the warrant 'disgusting' and wrote in a post on X, 'This institution has shown its immorality with a show trial and is now trying to turn this vice into a virtue for itself.' Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also called the court's decision 'shameful' and a campaign 'against Israel' that ignores the facts about the ongoing war in Gaza, stating that the United States could impose sanctions on officials of this institution. Additionally, Tom Cotton, a Republican senator from Arkansas, criticized the ICC's ruling against senior Israeli officials, calling it a 'sham court' and labeled its prosecutor Karim Khan a 'crazy fanatic.' John Barrasso, a senior Republican senator from Wyoming, also called for sanctions against this international judicial body. The ICC judges, led by Karim Khan, the court's prosecutor, on Thursday, November 23, accused Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the former Minister of Defense, along with Mohammed Deif, the slain Hamas commander, of committing 'war crimes' and 'crimes against humanity,' issuing arrest warrants for them. They could be arrested if they travel to any of the 120 member countries of the ICC. Benjamin Netanyahu, in a message on Thursday evening, dismissed the ICC's warrant for his and the former Minister of Defense's arrest, referring to his country's actions to protect civilians and rejecting the accusation of 'crimes against humanity.' He emphasized Israel's right to defend its citizens against the 'axis of evil' of the Islamic Republic and its proxy forces, calling the issuing prosecutor 'rogue' and claiming that this prosecutor is accused of 'sexual harassment' and that the judges supporting this ruling have 'anti-Semitic motives.'