G7 To Discuss Netanyahu's Arrest Letter

JAKARTA - Italy announced the G7 countries will discuss arrest warrants for the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli authorities Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant at a meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on November 25.

"We respect and support the International Criminal Court, but we believe that its role must be legal rather than political," said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani as quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Saturday, November 23.

"We will review the documents to understand the reasons for the court's decision," he added.

Tajani commented on the ICC arrest warrant and the upcoming G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, which will be held by Italy next week.

Foreign ministers of G7 countries, which include the US, Germany, France, Canada, Britain, Italy and Japan will be held in the cities of Anagni and Fiuggi on November 25-26, he added.

"The G7 Foreign Ministers will start discussions in Fiuggi on Monday (25/11), and we will make decisions with our allies. This is a policy that has been outlined by our Prime Minister (Giorgia Meloni), and I was assigned to implement it," he said.

On Thursday (21/11), the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant the previous day "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least October 8, 2023 to at least May 20, 2024," when prosecutor ICC Karim Khan requested the warrant.

Thus, the court also unanimously rejected Israel's challenges to jurisdictions based on articles 18 and 19 on the Rome Statute.

The Court said it "found plausible reasons" to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant " bear criminal responsibility" for "war crimes in the form of hunger as a method of war; and crimes against humanity in the form of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts."

The warrant was issued during an Israeli genocide attack on the Gaza Strip recently entering its second year, which killed 44,000 Palestinians, most of whom were women and children.

Israeli attacks have displaced nearly the entire population of the region amid ongoing and intentional blockades that have caused shortages of food, clean water, and severe medicines, which have pushed residents to the brink of starvation.