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MIDDLE EAST CRISIS

Netanyahu and Hamas leaders face arrest in SA if ICC issues warrants — SA Presidency 

If the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Hamas, South Africa — as an ICC member — will be obliged to arrest them if they enter the country. 
Netanyahu and Hamas leaders face arrest in SA if ICC issues warrants — SA Presidency  President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Photo: Gallo Images/Die Burger/Jaco Marais)
Victoria O’Regan
By Victoria O’Regan
22 May 2024
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Pretoria said it would comply with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which would mean arresting the Hamas and Israeli leaders if warrants for their arrest were granted and they set foot in South Africa.

Read in Daily Maverick: Israel-Palestine War

“We have a legal obligation in terms of fulfilling elements of the Rome Statute and we will discharge that duty when required to do so,” Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Daily Maverick.

“We have affirmed our status as a signatory to the Rome Statute and we will continue to campaign for equal and consistent application of international law.”

Pretoria has been reprimanded in the past by the ICC and its own courts after ignoring an ICC request to arrest and surrender the then Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, when he visited South Africa for an African Union summit in 2015. Bashir was indicted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly carried out between 2003 and 2008 in Sudan’s Darfur region.

President Cyril Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya. The job is demanding but also comes with great rewards, says Magwenya.(Photo: GCIS)
Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson to President Cyril Ramaphosa. 29 April 2024. (Photo: GCIS)

In 2023, Pretoria faced a repeat of the Bashir incident when Russia’s President Vladimir Putin — accused of war crimes in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — was scheduled to come to South Africa for a BRICS Summit in Sandton. In the end, Pretoria diplomatically (albeit with some flip-flopping) left the decision to Moscow, and Putin agreed not to attend.

The ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, on Monday announced that he was seeking warrants of arrest for Hamas’ top brass, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in relation to Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October and Israel’s retaliatory assault on the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas leaders for whom arrest warrants are sought are its chief in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar; the commander of its military wing, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri; and the organisation’s political bureau leader, Ismail Haniyeh.

The decision of whether to issue the arrest warrants now rests with the Pre-Trial Chamber 1 of the ICC.

Read more in Daily Maverick: ICC seeks arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders – reactions

Pretoria welcomed the ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders.

“The law must be applied equally to all in order to uphold the international rule of law, ensure accountability for those that commit heinous crimes and protect the rights of victims. To this end, the Rome Statute is premised on holding those most responsible for atrocity crimes accountable for their conduct,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.

The ICC in The Hague was founded by a multilateral treaty, the Rome Statute. There are 124 states parties to the Rome Statute. Israel is not one of them, but Palestine and South Africa are both signatories and have international obligations to the other state parties.

Notably, South Africa was the first African state to sign the Rome Statute on 17 July 1998 and ratified it on 27 November 2000.

However, Pretoria has for years toyed with the idea of pulling out of the ICC. In 2016, former president Jacob Zuma attempted to withdraw South Africa’s membership of the ICC, following the embarrassing Bashir debacle. However, the high court ruled that the attempt was procedurally unconstitutional and invalid.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Explainer — the ICC arrest warrants for Hamas and Israeli leaders, and how they could play out

Reactions from Western nations 

On Wednesday, Norway became the first country in Europe to vow to arrest Netanyahu and the Hamas officials should they set foot in the country.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster TV2: “If he [Netanyahu] or one of the Hamas leaders who are also indicted should appear in Norway, then we are obliged by international law to do so. The same applies to all countries in Europe with the exception of Turkey.”

 

Norway, in a historic move together with Ireland and Spain, announced that it would recognise Palestinian statehood. Israel immediately denounced the decisions and recalled its ambassadors to the three European nations, the Associated Press reported.

The three nations join an increasing number of countries which have recognised a Palestinian state amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Norwegian ambassador Gjermund Saether. (Photo: Siya Duda/GCIS)
Norwegian ambassador Gjermund Saether. (Photo: Siya Duda/GCIS)

Gjermund Saether, Norway’s ambassador to South Africa, noted that since the Oslo Accords in 1993, (which Norway helped negotiate), “We have obviously been very involved in supporting the Palestinian Authority to help build a Palestinian state. And the idea was always that it should be a two-state solution. And the whole world agreed on that.

“But now, we find that the time has come to also recognise Palestine, because the two-state solution is in danger,” Saether said.

“And it’s not only related to what’s happening in Gaza. It’s also very much related to what’s happening in the West Bank with Israeli annexations of territories, et cetera. So now there is a need for recognition of the Palestinian state that is stronger than before. We used to say that we want the recognition of the State of Palestine to be part of a broader peace agreement. But we cannot wait for a peace agreement.

“And of course, this cannot — in any way — be seen as a support to Hamas and what they are doing. We have been condemning Hamas very clearly from the very start when it attacked Israel on 7 October,” he told Daily Maverick. 

In terms of the ICC, Saether said Norway did not want to “take a position” on Khan’s decision but wanted to “protect the ICC”.

“Everybody should respect the mandate. If there is an arrest warrant issued for Prime Minister Netanyahu or for the Hamas leadership — it’s the same thing as the arrest warrant that has been issued for Vladimir Putin — they will be arrested upon arrival in Norway if they set foot there. So we are quite consistent.” DM

Comments

William Dryden May 23, 2024, 09:27 AM

Tal, about the ANC being two faced, i see that when they are on television and other media platforms where Israel is the topic, they can be seen, wearing the Palestinian shawl across their shoulders, then they take it off after the show.

Rama Chandra May 23, 2024, 09:55 AM

It is great that the ANC take a stand on this, and super disappointing that they failed on Bashir, Putin and others. I don't get your comment on the Palestinian shawl. Are you complaining that they put it on, or that they take it off? Or is that a metaphor for how they are one thing in front of the shiny lights and cameras and another in reality.

mashish May 23, 2024, 05:11 PM

This has nothing to do with Bashir, but racist Israel. Why there are pale people with blue eyes fighting for land in the middle east anyway?

marc36 May 24, 2024, 03:44 PM

Vic has obviously never been to Israel, nor seen a unit of the IDF. Interesting how those calling people racists will immediately turn to skin and eye colours, bwahahahah.

Geoff Coles May 23, 2024, 09:58 AM

Has Palestine been recognised as an independent country by the UN?

John P May 23, 2024, 03:20 PM

No because the US vetoed the proposal.

Brandon Platt May 23, 2024, 10:56 AM

This I have to see...... with Pandor around, she will probably give a state welcome to Hamas, pull the other one please

mashish May 23, 2024, 05:10 PM

Hamas are fighting the apartheid Israel regime, why should they be arrested.

Robert de Vos May 23, 2024, 11:36 AM

Are the Hamas leaders getting arrested? By whom? Will the UAE hand them over? Egypt? Because it's common knowledge that they frequent these countries. Maybe Iran? Somehow I doubt it. The ANC meanwhile has close connections with Russia and China, both of whom are either slaughtering their neighbours or planning to do so. Oh, wait! It's election time! Along with free health, education, basic income grant, land, T-shirts and a MacDonald's burger. Wotta laff!

John P May 23, 2024, 12:10 PM

Neither the UAE, Iran or Egypt are signatories to the Roman Statute of the ICC so they would not be obliged to arrest anyone affected by an ICC warrant. If you had read the article properly you would have seen this from the included map.

Dorothy Laura Lucas May 23, 2024, 12:40 PM

No mention is made of the fact that South Africa is one of four places in the world to host a Hamas representative office – the others being in Gaza, Iran and Qatar. How about starting by arresting the Hamas representatives in South Africa?

marc36 May 23, 2024, 01:22 PM

Interesting. Has this (and the Hezbollah offices in Cape Town and Fordsburg) escaped the attention of Israeli Intelligence? Asking for a friend

John P May 23, 2024, 03:22 PM

There is no arrest warrant for them so on what grounds do you suggest they be arrested?

Pieter Onderwater May 23, 2024, 07:03 PM

Since Palestine has signed the treaty as well, should they not arrest these 3 leaders that are on the list?

John P May 24, 2024, 10:41 AM

Palestine as in the West Bank may have signed the treaty, Gaza has not. At this stage there is no unified Palestinian state. More interesting perhaps is those who have not signed foremost of whom are the USA, China, Russia and Israel

marc36 May 23, 2024, 03:34 PM

Have the offices come to the attention of Mossad? Asking for a friend

A B May 23, 2024, 12:41 PM

The hypocrisy from the anc and black south africa. No wonder they are now viewed as a racist global joke.

mashish May 23, 2024, 05:08 PM

We really don't care, racists are committing genocide in Palestine and their racists friends are supporting them with weapons.

Middle aged Mike May 23, 2024, 06:06 PM

This is a one trick pony.

Jeff Robinson May 23, 2024, 12:42 PM

Apartheid South Africa tried to impose a multi-state solution with ethnically based independent homelands and the world, rightly, would have none of it. What is different with Israel-Palestine? As was insisted for South Africa, the only acceptable solution is a single, secular state with equal rights for all. But there must be absolute certainty that there will be a complete and unequivocal separation of state and church/synagogue/mosque. We certainly don't need yet another Islamic theocracy. If only followers of any of the Abrahamic faiths could finally just GET REAL and divest themselves of the bronze age delusions they somehow continue to embrace. There is no credible evidence for the existence of any god, especially a tyrannical, misogynistic, genocidal, infanticidal, megalomaniacal narcissist like Yahweh/Allah.

Pieter van de Venter May 23, 2024, 01:54 PM

I am convinced that should Putin, Sinwar and Bibi ever set foor in South Africa, the ANC will work out a plan to only arrest Bibi.

troyelanmarshall May 23, 2024, 02:11 PM

Germany has confirmed that Netanyahu will be arrested if he enters that country.

John P May 23, 2024, 03:27 PM

Germany has confirmed that they will arrest anyone for whom the ICC has issued a warrant. Not just Netanyahu.

Middle aged Mike May 23, 2024, 06:07 PM

As every signatory state should. That's after all why most of them sign up. We just did it to virtue signal.

John P May 24, 2024, 10:42 AM

True that

Frank M May 26, 2024, 07:27 AM

Corruption is just that 'corrupt" - the report that the ICJ Ruling states immediate cessation of hostilities is exactly that false and corrupt. The ruling in brief states not to harm the Palestinian residents - the ANC by definition is motivated by racial indifference and should focus on the 23000+ murders in South Africa which has increased by 6% per Quarter -- Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC cartel, should be brought before the ICC for their crimes. Gaza's population might be Palestinian, but they voted Hamas into power. Hamas government declared war on Israel, and Israel is targeting Hamas, not the Palestinian population that voted Hamas into power. Based on the rhetoric used by South Africa's legal team at the ICJ and in public comments at the ICC - Naledi Pandor and Co. should face criminal sanction also for their role in receiving funding for the 2024 elections from Iran.