Christopher Luxon says Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to NZ

Monday, 2 December 2024

Christopher Luxon said New Zealand would be obligated to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu following the warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he entered New Zealand.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israel’s former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

NZ, Australia, and Canada issued a joint statement condemning Israel's actions and calling for protection of Palestinian civilians.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to New Zealand.

“We support the ICC [the International Criminal Court],” Luxon said at a press conference on Monday.

“We believe in the international rules-based system, we support the ICC, and we would be obligated to do so.”

Luxon’s comments follow the ICC’s recent decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israel’s former defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

Wanted for arrest: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at a press conference in Tel Aviv in October.

In issuing the arrest warrants, the ICC accused the pair of war crimes and crimes against humanity over their 13-month war in the Palestinian enclave.

But the practical implications of the arrest warrant could be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court. A number of countries have been reluctant to say they would arrest the two Israeli officials.

The ICC was set up in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression when member states are unwilling or unable to do so themselves. It is based in The Hague in the Netherlands.

It can prosecute crimes committed by nationals of member states or on the territory of member states by other actors. It has 124 member states.

The case at the ICC is separate from another legal battle Israel is waging at the top UN court, the International Court of Justice, in which South Africa accuses Israel of genocide, an allegation Israeli leaders staunchly deny. Lawyers for Israel argued in court that the war in Gaza was a legitimate defence of its people and that it was Hamas militants who were guilty of genocide.

In the wake of the October 7 attack, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive into Gaza that has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who don’t say how many were fighters. It has displaced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes and caused heavy destruction across the besieged territory.

Hamas is still holding around 100 hostages, about a third of whom are believed to be dead. Most of the rest were released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a ceasefire last November.

– additional reporting: AP