Immunity efforts for Israeli war criminals 'reflection of extreme racism': Palestinian National Council

By Aysar Alais

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Palestinian National Council (PNC) has condemned on Saturday efforts to grant diplomatic immunity to “Israeli war criminals.”

In a statement, PNC President Rawhi Fattouh denounced the "horrific massacres carried out by the occupation, which claimed the lives of over 100 martyrs in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza.”

He called for “immediate international intervention to rescue two million people from famine and ethnic cleansing.”

Fattouh criticized “attempts by some nations to shield Israeli war criminals” in the wake of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision, describing them as "a reflection of extreme racism and support for an unprecedented apartheid system."

These actions, he said, “only embolden the occupation to persist with its blockade and crimes.”

On Friday, 100 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Jabalia and Beit Lahia, according to Palestinian sources.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, addressing the general assembly of the parliament, referenced the ICC arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Barnier emphasized that the Rome Statute mandates full cooperation with the ICC but also stipulates that no actions should contradict international law concerning the immunity of states not party to the ICC.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing over 44,300 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 105,000.

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

The ICC issued arrest warrants on Nov. 21 for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

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

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi.