Country would, in theory, arrest Israeli prime minister and former defence minister
The minister of foreign affairs assured on Friday that Portugal will fulfil its “international obligations” if the International Criminal Court (ICC) enforces arrest warrants, namely against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defence minister Yoav Gallant.
 At the press conference after today’s Council of Ministers, which took place at the ministry of foreign affairs headquarters in Lisbon, Paulo Rangel reaffirmed the position conveyed in May about Portugal being “bound” by the decisions of the ICC as one of its member states.
Yesterday, the ICC issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu, former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant and the head of Hamas’ military arm, Mohammed Deif, for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
 Reaffirming his position, the head of Portuguese diplomacy emphasised, however, that “having an equivalence between Hamas (the Palestinian extremist group) and the Israeli government seems, in spite of everything, politically inappropriate”.
“But that doesn’t mean that if the Court is independent, if it has found reasons to do so, we, because we are signatories to the treaty that created this Court, we deeply respect the Court’s decision,” he continued.
Paulo Rangel expressed Portugal’s total willingness to fulfil its “international obligations if that question arises”.
“There is no hesitation on the part of the Portuguese government,” he affirmed.
The ICC does not have a police force to detain suspects, but its 125 member states, including the United Kingdom and the countries of the European Union (EU), are obliged to cooperate with it.
The United States and Israel are not members of this body that tries people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes – and both have decried the decision.
As Lusa concludes: âThe ongoing war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, which caused around 1,200 deaths and more than two hundred hostages, according to the Israeli authorities.
âFollowing the Hamas attack, Israel unleashed a large-scale offensive in Gaza, which has already caused more than 44,000 deaths, mostly civilians, and a humanitarian disaster, destabilising the entire Middle East region.
âThe EU, the United States and Israel consider the Palestinian extremist group Hamas to be a terrorist organisation.Â
âAlready this year, Israel has opened a new front against another Iranian-backed movement, Hezbollah, in Lebanonâ in which thousands more people are reported to have been killed.
Source: LUSA
