Geneva – Saba:
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, on Wednesday called on Italy, France, and Greece to explain why they allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, to fly safely through their airspace.
In a post on X, Albanese said:
“The governments of Italy, France, and Greece must explain why they provided airspace and safe passage to Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC, which they are obligated to cooperate with under the Rome Statute.”
Her remarks came after the three EU countries—all parties to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC—provided Netanyahu a secure air corridor during his current visit to the United States, where he met with former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Albanese stressed that citizens of those countries “deserve to know that every political decision that violates international legal obligations weakens not only them but all of us, and exposes us to danger.”
Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, which began last Sunday and ends Thursday, is his third in six months, despite a standing arrest warrant issued by the ICC on November 21, 2024, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.
The European Commission previously affirmed its support for the ICC, stating that EU member states are obligated to execute ICC arrest warrants. This places the Netanyahu warrant as a litmus test for global commitment to international justice.
The ICC’s Article 89 of the Rome Statute requires states to cooperate in executing arrest warrants. The United States, however, is not a member of the ICC, and Netanyahu has reportedly avoided traveling through ICC member-state airspace to prevent any emergency landing scenarios that could lead to his arrest.
Meanwhile, with U.S. and European backing, the Israeli military has continued its genocidal war in Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in at least 57,680 Palestinian deaths, mostly children and women, and 137,409 injuries, according to the latest but still incomplete figures. Thousands remain buried under rubble or in unreachable areas.