Gallant will reportedly travel on a scheduled El Al flight, “risking an emergency landing in one of the 123 countries that recognize the jurisdiction” of the ICC.
Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant plans to travel to Washington despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crimes in Gaza, Israeli media reported.
Israel’s Army Radio said Gallant will hold talks with US security officials during his visit.
His trip is scheduled for next Sunday, according to YNet News.
Gallant is set to fly to the U.S. to meet with defence officials — it will be his first overseas outing since the ICC arrest warrants were issued.
Flying through European/North African airspace? Here’s hoping to his being escorted mid-flight. https://t.co/LmulneF7HJ
— Naks Bilal (@NaksBilal) November 24, 2024
On Thursday, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Gallant was scheduled to travel to the US in early October but was postponed by Netanyahu at the last minute, “conditioning it on a phone call between himself and President Joe Biden,” the report said. Less than four weeks later, Netanyahu dismissed Gallant and appointed Israel Katz in the position.
Legal Obligations
A Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) report said Gallant “will travel on a scheduled El Al flight, risking an emergency landing in one of the 123 countries that recognize the jurisdiction of the court in The Hague and are legally obligated to execute any arrest warrant it issues.”
According to ICC regulations, trials in absentia are not conducted, where the defendants must be physically present for the case to begin.
‘No Pick and Choose’ – EU Chief Says Member States Obliged to Implement ICC Decisions
As the Hague-based court has no police to enforce its warrants, it depends on its member states to implement its orders.
On Saturday, EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the states “that signed the Rome convention are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It’s not optional.”
He emphasized that the ICC’s decisions “are legally binding: there is no pick & choose,” adding that “threats against it are unacceptable,” including from the US.
US Rejection of Warrants
The White House said on Thursday that it rejected the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
Slamming the warrants as “outrageous,” President Joe Biden said that “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
For the first time in its history, the ICC has issued arrest warrants against a Western-backed leader – Benjamin Netanyahu.@TariqNafi talks us through the reaction from inside Israel – including the accusations of anti-Semitism that always follow international condemnation. pic.twitter.com/nqHarmfpHW
— The Listening Post (@AJListeningPost) November 22, 2024
Meanwhile, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pledged to impose sanctions on the court in the coming year.
“The ICC’s arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant is outrageous, unlawful, and dangerous,” Thune stated.
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
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.
Amid pouring rain and harsh cold, with trembling hands, displaced people gather at Al-Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, seeking food to quell their hunger. This comes after 14 months of the ongoing Israeli blockade and genocide." pic.twitter.com/XCG85S7iB0
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 25, 2024
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 44,211 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 104,567 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
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’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
Millions Displaced
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.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(PC, Anadolu)
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