BRUSSELS, November 21. /TASS/. The European Union considers the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as binding, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at a press conference in Jordan.
"It is not a political decision. It is a decision of a court. This decision, of course, has to be respected and implemented," he said, adding that the EU had "taken note of" it. "This decision is binding, and all the states parties to the ICC, including all members of the EU, are bound to implement this court decision," he emphasized.
According to the EU foreign policy chief, the situation in the Gaza Strip "is apocalyptic," and "there are no more words" to describe it. "This is not an earthquake, not a volcano, not a flood, it’s a man-made tragedy," Borrell said. "The massacre has to stop," he reiterated.
Earlier, the ICC announced the issuance of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, who was sacked in early November, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Palestine. The court's statement noted that the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber unanimously issued two decisions rejecting Israeli objections.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar opined that the ICC had lost all legitimacy after issuing the warrants, which he called "absurd."