Belgian deputy premier calls on Europe to 'uphold' ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

By Nur Asena Erturk

Belgium’s deputy prime minister on Thursday called on Europe to comply with and uphold the UN top court’s new arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

"Europe must comply. Impose economic sanctions, suspend the Association Agreement with Israel and uphold these arrest warrants," Petra de Sutter said on X.

"War crimes and crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished," she added.

In a landmark move, the Hague court on Thursday announced it had issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant after accusing them of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.

Gallant was fired earlier this month, but other than the last few weeks, was Israel’s top defense official during its 13-month assault in Gaza, which the ICC warrant focuses on.

The warrants come as Israel’s genocidal offensive in Gaza recently entered its second year, having already killed some 44,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured over 103,000 others.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing and deliberate blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, pushing the population to the brink of starvation.