South Africa’s government, in an unprecedented move, has implored the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The deadline for this action is set for mid-December, signaling a bold stance from the African nation. The call was voiced by the Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who cautioned that a failure to issue the warrant would correspond to a collapse in global governance systems.
South Africa’s appeal to the ICC is not a solo endeavor. Other nations, namely Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, and Djibouti, have joined hands in submitting a referral to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. This collective effort underscores the international debate surrounding Netanyahu’s actions and the ongoing situation in Gaza.
Wouldn’t that be an ‘declaration of war’? That’s what they said that when they didn’t arrest Putin.
Firstly, SA never had the opportunity to arrest Putin. Secondly, it was Russia that would have considered the arrest a declaration of war.
I think it all depends on the country that you do that to. A dictatorship like Russia is probably quicker to save their glorious leader than Israel would. Plus a warrant is not an arrest. But I’m of course no expert.
It’s not like an ICC warrant means that INTERPOL will break down your door or anything, AFAIK. Just means that if you ever end up in a signatory country they’ll arrest you. Most of the nations calling out the Israelis probably aren’t places that Netanyahu would ever visit anyway, so it’ll unfortunately just effectively be a symbolic gesture if it even happens.
Sometime when he leave office and be useless, and new government want to break a deal, getting him to the international court would be part of the deal.