Norway became the first European country to declare that it would arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if an arrest warrant is issued against them by the International Criminal Court and they enter Norwegian territory.
In an interview with Norwegian TV 2 on Tuesday, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide warned Israel that if the ICC issues arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Norway would be obligated to detain them upon arrival.
“If they … appear in Norway, then according to international law we are obliged to do this (arrest them – PC). The same principle applies to all countries in Europe, except Turkey,” Eide said.
In the interview, Eide emphasized that the decision to issue an arrest warrant rests with the ICC.
If such warrants are issued, all signatory countries are required to comply, he asserted.
NORWEGIAN FM: "We are obligated to arrest Netanyahu if he visits our country after a decision by the International Criminal Court."
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Khan’s Application
Karim Khan announced on Monday that his office had filed applications for arrest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.
Khan also applied for arrest warrants for three Palestinian leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza; Mohammed Deif, the leader of Al-Qassam Brigades; and the head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.
Khan said his team has applied for the warrants with the court’s pre-trial chamber and a panel of judges will decide on granting the warrants.
Efforts Underway to Issue ICC Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Sinwar – Developing Story
The news caused outrage in Israel and disappointment in the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas, Reuters news agency reported.
Israel’s War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz was quoted by Reuters as saying that “drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a blood-thirsty terror organization (Hamas) is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy.”
For his part, top Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that “the decision “equates the victim with the executioner” and encourages Israel to continue its “war of extermination” in Gaza.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 35,647 Palestinians have been killed, and 79,852 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
The ICC should issue arrest warrants only vs Netanyahu and his war cabinet because these are the main reasons why the Palestinian Resistance launched October 7. They were pushed to the wall by 76 years of Nakba 1948 up to now stealing and looting them of their land and resources and forcibly driving them away from their homeland. Even the Netanyahus illegally occupied the residence of the Palestinian doctor and his family and driven them away.
Netanyahu: King of the Squatters…
Zionists are anti-Semitic by design. Theodor Herzl hated Jews, thought they were the lowest dregs. The principles of Zionism are geared toward exploiting the Jews to eventually make everyone resent them. i would say it’s been a success.