Statement by the Vaad of Ukraine on the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli high-ranking officials

On the last Thursday, November 21, 2024, was a black day not for Israel only but for Ukraine also, as well as the entire global accountability system.

The Vaad of Ukraine unequivocally condemns the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for the Prime Minister of the State of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant on suspicion of involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of the IDF's Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas.

The Vaad of Ukraine does not consider itself in the position to comment on the legal side of the charges, especially those based on classified testimony. The Jewish community of Ukraine shares with all the Ukrainian people a belief in international mechanisms for bringing war criminals to justice, the most authoritative of which is the ICC. Ukraine recently ratified the Rome Statute and officially became a state party to the ICC, which means a presumption of confidence in the court's decisions.

However, it is impossible to ignore the political aspect of the ICC decision. By putting Yoav Galant and Benjamin Netanyahu on the same level as Vladimir Putin and Sergei Shoigu, the Court symbolically equated the status of leaders of a democratic state defending itself from ruthless terror with aggressors who trampled on all norms of international law. We understand perfectly well that the ICC is not interested in who started the armed conflict and who defended himself; it is only interested in the extent to which the parties comply with the IHL during the hostilities. However, such an equalization of aggressors and victims is a deeply immoral act, completely unacceptable from an institution that is called upon to restore justice. It is difficult to assess this as anything other than a complete loss of bearings by the Court. Never again will any decision of the ICC be perceived as impeccable. With such an absurd action, the Court has called into question its legitimacy and not the legitimacy of the Israeli government.

The senselessness of the court's decision is reinforced by the fact that an arrest warrant was issued for Mohammed al-Masri (better known as Deif), the long-dead commander of the Hamas terrorist organization's military wing. With this pathetic attempt to imitate impartiality, the ICC only underscored its senselessness and worthlessness. Considering that the ICC prosecutor had previously requested an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, it can be confidently stated that the Israeli army is a much more reliable instrument for bringing war criminals to justice than the ICC.

The absurd legal decision is a consequence of its absurd political decision, which was made in 2015 when the ICC approved the membership of the non-existent state of Palestine. There is no need to draw special attention to the fact that, by recognizing the jurisdiction of the ICC on its territory (having neither the legitimate right to do so nor the sovereignty that would allow it to accept any jurisdiction), the Palestinian National Authority violated the Oslo Accords, which are the only source of legitimacy for its existence. This is rightly pointed out in the objection of the State of Israel, which, we hope, will be objectively considered by the Court. It seems important to emphasize that the “symbolic” recognition of the State of Palestine, which has again become fashionable among the international community in the last year, is not a harmless absurdity, but leads to genuine negative consequences.

In the case of the ICC, the inevitable consequences could be catastrophic not only for the institution itself but for the entire system of international justice. After the change of the White House administration shortly, a scenario in which the United States will impose sanctions against the ICC seems quite realistic. This will completely paralyze the activities of the Ukrainian office of the Court, making it impossible to continue the work of bringing the real war criminals to justice – the military-political leadership of the Russian Federation. More distant political consequences will inevitably weaken the already ineffective tools for bringing war criminals to justice. The number of cases in which the ICC member states will refuse to comply with the court's orders for political reasons will grow. This will make the prospect of bringing Russian aggressors and executioners to justice completely illusory.

Presidium of the Vaad of Ukraine
November 22, 2024