The Palestine Chronicle / November 30, 2024
“The argument of the state immunity cannot be made. The court has already said it.”
The UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, has rejected France’s immunity claims regarding the arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant by the International Criminal Court (ICC), arguing such immunity has no legal validity.
Asked by the Anadolu News Agency in an interview whether the claim has any legal validity, Albanese said: “No, because it’s been already resolved by the court in the case of Omar al-Bashir in the past, and no one (argued).”
Al-Bashir is a Sudanese former military officer and former head of state who was indicted by the ICC in 2009 and 2010 for war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians in Darfur, reported Anadolu.
“The argument of the state immunity cannot be made. The court has already said it,” Albanese said.
France’s claims
On Wednesday French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that certain leaders could have immunity under the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Barrot highlighted that the Rome Statute “deals with questions of immunity for certain leaders,” adding that such matters ultimately rest with judicial authorities.
France’s Foreign Ministry claimed that immunity for prosecution at the ICC applies to Netanyahu.
In a statement, the foreign ministry said France “will comply with its international obligations, it being understood that the Rome Statute demands full cooperation” with the ICC.
Adding that it “also stipulates that a State cannot be required to act inconsistently with its obligations under international law with respect to the immunities of States not party to the ICC.”
“Such immunities apply to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the other ministers concerned and will have to be taken into account should the ICC request of us their arrest and surrender,” the ministry claimed.
Violation of Rome Statute
In her interview with Anadolu, Albanese underlined that hindering the enforcement of an ICC arrest warrant could be considered a violation of Article 70 of the Rome Statute.
“I want to point to the fact that obstructing the execution of an ICC arrest warrant could be seen as a breach of Article 70, an obstruction to the administration of justice, which is an offense, a criminal offense in itself,” she reportedly said.
Albanese also described France’s contradictory approaches toward the warrant against Netanyahu and the one issued against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin back in March 2023 – a non-party state – as “double standards.”
The Court issued arrest warrants last Thursday for Netanyahu and Gallant on charges of “crimes against humanity and war crimes,” compelling the ICC’s 124 member states to arrest them should they enter their territory.
Call for cooperation
ICC spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah on Monday called on its member states to cooperate in implementing the arrest warrants for Israeli officials and also advised that non-member states could cooperate on a voluntary basis.
“States that are parties to the ICC Rome Statute have an obligation to cooperate with the ICC, according to Chapter Nine of the statute,” El-Abdallah said, according to the Middle East Monitor (MEMO), citing the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
“States that are not parties to the ICC can cooperate on a voluntary basis if they want to,” El-Abdallah added.
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.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 44,330 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 104,933 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.
