Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar canceled his Dutch counterpart Kasper Waldekamp’s visit to Israel set for Monday after the Netherlands, which hosts the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, became the first country to declare it would honor the court's arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
Sa'ar spoke with Waldekamp, after which his office issued a statement. "Minister Sa'ar expressed his disappointment, on behalf of the Israeli government and people, over the statement made in the Dutch Parliament following the ICC decision,” the statement said.
“The minister also presented Israel's stance regarding this scandalous and politically motivated decision. It was agreed during the conversation that the Dutch foreign minister's visit to Israel, planned for Monday, would not take place,” the statement added.
Geert Wilders, the leader of the ruling coalition in the Netherlands and a vocal supporter of Israel, has yet to comment on the ICC decision.
Meanwhile, Sa'ar engaged with his counterparts in two ICC member states – Argentina and Hungary – condemning the decision in strong terms. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto harshly criticized the warrant, calling it "shameful and absurd."
"This decision disgraces the international judiciary by equating leaders of a country attacked by a heinous terror attack with the leaders of the terrorist organization responsible,” he added.
Argentine president Javier Milei also weighed in, saying his country “declares its deep disagreement” with the ruling which “ignores Israel's legitimate right to defend itself against ongoing attacks by terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.”
Another ICC member state, the UK, refused to commit to abide by the court’s ruling. "This government has been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself, in accordance with international law. There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, which are terrorist organizations,” a UK government spokesman said.
Italy would have to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to the country, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the deputy speaker of the Czech parliament called on the parliament to consider a "temporary suspension of Czech participation in the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute" and membership in the ICC, as well as re-evaluating the country's financial contributions to the court in The Hague.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to questions about his view of the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. "Everyone has to abide by international law," Trudeau said. He added that Canada "will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the international court.”
Following the court’s decision, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar instructed Israeli ambassadors worldwide to “engage influencers in general, not just those in power, foreign ministries or the prime minister's office. In some countries, it might be the opposition that could strongly voice opposition to this. And we need that. We need those voices to be heard."
'A modern Dreyfus trial'
Meanwhile, Netanyahu's office commented on the UN top court's decision. "The antisemitic decision of the International Criminal Court is a modern Dreyfus trial – and will end the same way. Israel utterly rejects the false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body," the PMO said in a statement.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, the ICC
(Photo: Haim Goldberg/Flash90, Shutterstock)
"No war is more just than the war Israel has been waging in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terrorist organization launched a murderous assault and perpetrated the largest massacre against the Jewish People since the Holocaust," it added.
"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.
"The ICC prosecutor lied when he told American senators that he would take no action until he had visited Israel and heard its side. Instead, he cancelled his arrival in Israel last May, several days after suspicions of sexual harassment were made against him, and announced his intention to issue arrest warrants against the Prime Minister and former Defense Minister."
"No anti-Israel decision will prevent the State of Israel from defending its citizens. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not give in to pressure. He will continue to pursue all the objectives that Israel set out to achieve in its just war against Hamas and the Iranian axis of terror," the statement concluded.
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