Carthy welcomes ICC arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister

35,000 Palestinians including an estimated 15,000 children have been killed.

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Deputy Matt Carthy TD, has welcomed the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) efforts to seek an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Yoav Gallant.

Deputy Carthy says Israel’s genocidal onslaught against the civilian population of Gaza has resulted in the deaths of 35,000 Palestinians, including an estimated 15,000 children.

“Israel is in gross violation of international law and the ICC is rightfully doing its job in seeking to hold them to account for their criminal responsibility for the international crimes committed against the Palestinian people,” he added. “This includes starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, wilfully killing and murder, and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, as well as crimes against humanity including extermination.”

Deputy Carthy went on to say that other international institutions that have been lacking in their response, particularly the European Union, must now act or risk forever losing any credibility on matters of human rights and international humanitarian law.

“But there is much more at risk,” he continued. “The lives of 1.4 million people seeking shelter in Rafah hang in the balance. If International Law and the UN Charter are to retain any meaning, then there can be no more equivocation or half-hearted measures or statements – Israel must be condemned, meaningfully sanctioned and held to account. The vast majority of humanity are demanding a ceasefire now – world leaders must catch up with where their citizens have been for nearly seven months now.”