"It is unconscionable that the E.U. is rolling out the red carpet for foreign minister Sa'ar whose boss, Prime Minister Netanyahu, is wanted by the ICC," Eve Geddie, director at the Amnesty International European Institutions Office, said in a Thursday statement about the foreign minister's trip to Brussels for an E.U.-Israel Association Council meeting.
"Discussions on the E.U.'s future relationship with Israel should above all be premised on an insistence that Netanyahu and Gallant face justice at the ICC for the crimes they are alleged to have committed, as well as on Israel's adherence to international law and an end to apartheid," Geddie argued. "E.U. leaders must put their commitments to international law, human rights, and the ICC above carefully choreographed diplomatic conferences with Israel."
"E.U. leaders should be deciding what measures to take to prevent the E.U. from aiding Israeli genocide, apartheid, and unlawful occupation instead of brushing these under the carpet for a diplomatic handshake in Brussels."
Geddie also highlighted threats against the ICC, including U.S. President Donald Trump's recent executive order sanctioning the court, which he announced shortly after welcoming Netanyahu to the White House earlier this month. Critics decried the sanctions, which followed the U.S. government—largely under former President Joe Biden—enabling Israel's destruction of Gaza with billions of dollars in military assistance.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty's secretary general, said at the time that the "aggressive," "reckless," and "vindictive" order suggests "Trump endorses the Israeli government's crimes and is embracing impunity." She also urged governments and regional organizations to "do everything in their power to mitigate and block the effect" of the sanctions.
Geddie said Thursday that "the E.U.'s shameful silence on threats to the ICC and lack of urgent practical mitigating measures which it should have already taken following President Trump's egregious sanctions on the ICC, gives the firm impression that the E.U. has prioritized relations with a government implicated in the commission of genocide and war crimes, over support to an institution which is pursuing individual accountability for these crimes."
"E.U. leaders should be deciding what measures to take to prevent the E.U. from aiding Israeli genocide, apartheid, and unlawful occupation instead of brushing these under the carpet for a diplomatic handshake in Brussels," she concluded.
Amnesty's statement—which captured attention from the Israeli press—comes as the pro-Palestinian Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) seeks an ICC warrant for Sa'ar over "war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel's ongoing military assault on Gaza since October 7, 2023."
"As Belgium is a signatory to the Rome Statute, it has a legal obligation to cooperate with the ICC and take action against individuals accused of serious international crimes," HRF said Sunday, referring to the treaty that established the court. "The Hind Rajab Foundation calls on Belgian authorities to ensure that Sa'ar does not evade justice while on European soil."
"Allowing a suspected war criminal to visit Brussels unchallenged would be a betrayal of international legal commitments and the fundamental principles of justice," added the group, named for a 5-year-old girl killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza.
A fragile cease-fire and hostage release deal took effect in Gaza last month, but Israel has repeatedly violated it, in addition to Israeli forces and settlers escalating attacks on Palestinians across the illegally occupied West Bank.
"The Israeli occupation has violated the cease-fire agreement more than 350 times since it was signed, clearly demonstrating its continued breach of commitments and its defiance of the international community," Ismail al-Thawabteh, head of the Government Media Office in Hamas-governed Gaza, said Friday, according toAnadolu Agency.
Amid threats of retaliation from Netanyahu, Hamas also said Friday that it was investigating claims that human remains the group gave to Israel on Thursday as part of the cease-fire deal did not include those of hostage Shiri Bibas.
Hamas has said that an Israeli airstrike killed Bibas and her sons Kfir and Ariel—whose remains were positively identified after being handed over to Israel—with al-Thawabteh saying that Netanyahu "bears full responsibility for killing her and her children." He said Friday that Bibas' body "was turned into pieces after apparently being mixed with other bodies under the rubble."
In preparation for Monday's meeting, EUobserver reported Friday that according to a draft joint communiqué, European foreign ministers intend to tell Sa'ar that "displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes," and they are "rejecting any attempt at demographic or territorial changes in the Gaza Strip."
"The E.U. is gravely concerned that the occupation of the Palestinian territory that began in 1967 continues to this day, underlining... that the International Court of Justice has found that the continued presence of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful," the document reportedly says. It also warns that the bloc "is ready to take work forward on further restrictive measures against extremist settlers [in the West Bank] and against entities and organizations which support them."
