While the South African Government has welcomed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue warrants of arrest for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the South African Zionist Federation has condemned the decision.
On Thursday, 21 November, the ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu, Israel’s former Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, and Mohammed Deif of Hamas.
WHY WAS A WARRANT OF ARREST ISSUED FOR ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU?
Earlier this year South Africa approached The Hauge-based ICC to compel Israel to stop the genocide in Gaza.
On Thursday AFP reported that the ICC said the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant had been classified as “secret”, to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations.
“However, the Chamber decided to release the information below since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing.
“Moreover, the Chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants’ existence,” the tribunal said.
Following the decision, the Department of International Relations and Corporation (Dirco) said these actions mark a significant step towards justice for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Palestine.
“South Africa reaffirms its commitment to international law and urges all state parties to act in accordance with their obligations in the Rome Statute.
“We call on the global community to uphold the rule of law and ensure accountability for human rights violations,” Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said.
In contrast, the said South African Zionist Federation said the warrants demonstrate critical jurisdictional and procedural flaws as Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, placing it outside ICC jurisdiction per Article 12 of the Statute.
“The warrants contravene established UN Charter Article 51 principles on sovereign self-defense rights. The warrants ignore critical distinctions between a sovereign state’s legitimate self-defense actions and premeditated terrorist attacks targeting civilians.
“They fail to acknowledge the fundamental difference between military operations conducted with civilian protection protocols and the deliberate exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes. This false equivalence undermines the core principles of international humanitarian law and disregards the established legal framework that distinguishes between lawful military operations and terrorist acts,” SAZF said.
PRIME MINISTER REJECTS ICC’S DECISION
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has accused the ICC of anti-Semitism calling it “a modern-day Dreyfus trial”.
Following the ICC’s decision Netanyahu took to X (formerly Twitter) saying Israel rejects the false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court labelling it a biased and discriminatory political body.
“No war is more just than the war Israel has been waging in Gaza since October 7th 2023, when the Hamas terrorist organization launched a murderous assault and perpetrated the largest massacre against the Jewish People since the Holocaust.
“The decision to issue an arrest warrant against the Prime Minister was made by a corrupt chief prosecutor who is trying to save himself from sexual harassment accusations and biased judges who are motivated by antisemitic hatred of Israel. No anti-Israel decision will prevent the State of Israel from defending its citizens,” he posted on X.
DO YOU THINK BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’S ARREST WOULD RESULT IN A SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION?
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