Justin Trudeau To Allow The Arrest Of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu If He Enters Canada?

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, accusing each individual of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the 13-month Gaza conflict.

According to Reuters, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant used “starvation as a method of warfare” as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza.”

Per Reuters:

Judges said there were also reasonable grounds to believe the blockade on Gaza and lack of food, water, electricity, fuel and medical supplies “created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza, which resulted in the death of civilians, including children, due to malnutrition and dehydration”.

The decision was met with outrage in Israel, which called it shameful and absurd. Gaza residents expressed hope it would help end the violence and bring those responsible for war crimes to justice. Hamas welcomed the warrants against the Israelis, and a senior official told Reuters it was a first step towards justice.

The warrant for Masri lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, and also charges of rape and the taking of hostages.

Israel has said it killed Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this. The prosecution indicated it would continue to gather information with respect to his reported death.

A reporter asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau if he would allow the arrest of Netanyahu if he entered Canada.

“Now that the ICC has issued warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Canadian law enforcement is obligated to arrest them should they come to Canada. Will you allow that to happen or will you step in to prevent an arrest?” CBC News reporter Michelle Song asked.

“First of all, as Canada has always said, it’s really important that everyone abide by international law. This is something we’ve been calling on from the very beginning of the conflict,” Trudeau said.

“We will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the international courts. This is just who we are as Canadians,” he added.

WATCH:

CTV News reports:

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trudeau reiterated the federal government’s call for a ceasefire in the war.

“We need to see a ceasefire that protects civilians. We need to get back on track towards a two-state solution with a peaceful Israel living alongside a peaceful Palestinian state,” Trudeau said.

In Washington, D.C., Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly repeated the prime minister’s position.

“We need accountability in our world, and so based on that, Canada will abide by its obligation under the ICC treaty,” Joly said.

Netanyahu’s office is describing the arrest warrants as “an antisemitic decision.”

Israel’s Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed, meanwhile, is speaking out against Canada’s stance to abide by the warrants.

“We urge the Canadian government to stand firm in its support of Israel’s right to defend itself by rejecting and condemning the ICC’s decision,” Moed said in a statement.

The United States, which is not an ICC member, is rejecting the ICC decision.



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