ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant ‘historic, fair’ for genocide victims in Gaza: Iraq

Iraq said the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants, Thursday, for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defence chief, Yoav Gallant, is a “historic, just, and fair decision” for the victims in Gaza Strip and Lebanon, Anadolu Agency reports.

The Iraqi government “values the courageous and just stance taken by the International Criminal Court in issuing arrest warrants against the head of the Zionist entity’s government and its former Defence Minister”, government spokesperson, Basim Al-Awadi, said in a statement.

This historic decision affirms that no matter how much oppression persists and tries to prevail, justice and truth will confront it and prevent it from dominating the world

he added.

Al-Awadi described the decision as

a vindication for the blood of the innocent and martyrs who perished during the criminal (genocidal) war waged by the Zionist entity for more than a year against Gaza and Lebanon

He reiterated his country’s demand for an end to the Israeli onslaught and urged “all free nations to implement this decision by bringing the accused to the competent Courts to hold them accountable for their blatant violations against humanity.”

READ: QUOTES – Reaction to the ICC warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 44,000 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,000.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labelling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.​​​​​​​

The ICC announced in a landmark move, Thursday, that it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I said it “issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest.”

“The Chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity,” the decision said.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

READ: Hamas welcomes ICC arrest warrants for ‘terrorists’ Netanyahu and Gallant