Sa’ar spoke with Waldekamp, after which his office issued a statement. “Minister Sa’ar expressed his disappointment, on behalf of the Israeli government and people, over the statement made in the Dutch Parliament following the ICC decision,” the statement said.
“The minister also presented Israel’s stance regarding this scandalous and politically motivated decision. It was agreed during the conversation that the Dutch foreign minister’s visit to Israel, planned for Monday, would not take place,” the statement added.
Another ICC member state, the UK, refused to commit to abide by the court’s ruling. “This government has been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself, in accordance with international law. There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, which are terrorist organizations,” a UK government spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the deputy speaker of the Czech parliament called on the parliament to consider a “temporary suspension of Czech participation in the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute” and membership in the ICC, as well as re-evaluating the country’s financial contributions to the court in The Hague.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to questions about his view of the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. “Everyone has to abide by international law,” Trudeau said. He added that Canada “will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the international court.”
Following the court’s decision, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar instructed Israeli ambassadors worldwide to “engage influencers in general, not just those in power, foreign ministries or the prime minister’s office. In some countries, it might be the opposition that could strongly voice opposition to this. And we need that. We need those voices to be heard.”
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s office commented on the UN top court’s decision. “The antisemitic decision of the International Criminal Court is a modern Dreyfus trial – and will end the same way. Israel utterly rejects the false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body,” the PMO said in a statement.
“No war is more just than the war Israel has been waging in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terrorist organization launched a murderous assault and perpetrated the largest massacre against the Jewish People since the Holocaust,” it added.
“No anti-Israel decision will prevent the State of Israel from defending its citizens. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not give in to pressure. He will continue to pursue all the objectives that Israel set out to achieve in its just war against Hamas and the Iranian axis of terror,” the statement concluded.