By Laith Al-jnaidi
BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraq said the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense chief Yoav Gallant is a "historic, just, and fair decision” for the victims in Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
The Iraqi government “values the courageous and just stance taken by the International Criminal Court in issuing arrest warrants against the head of the Zionist entity's government and its former Defense Minister,” government spokesperson Basim Al-Awadi said in a statement.
"This historic decision affirms that no matter how much oppression persists and tries to prevail, justice and truth will confront it and prevent it from dominating the world,” he added.
Al-Awadi described the decision as "a vindication for the blood of the innocent and martyrs who perished during the criminal (genocidal) war waged by the Zionist entity for more than a year against Gaza and Lebanon."
He reiterated his country’s demand for an end to the Israeli onslaught and urged “all free nations to implement this decision by bringing the accused to the competent courts to hold them accountable for their blatant violations against humanity.”
Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 44,000 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,000.
The second year of 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 announced in a landmark move Thursday that it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I said it “issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest.”
“The Chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity,” the decision said.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala