A day after the head of the International Criminal Court (ICC) released a statement claiming he had applied for arrest warrants for the leaders of both Israel and Hamas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the “equivalency” between the two groups is “troubling,” while adding that Canada respects the independence of the international court.
“The International Criminal Court is independent in its work, and I’ve said from the very beginning how important it is that everyone respect and abide by international law,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters on May 21.
“What I will say is troubling, though, is the sense of an equivalency between the democratically elected leaders of Israel and the bloodthirsty terrorists that lead up Hamas. I don’t think that’s helpful.”
Canada’s stance isn’t as strongly stated as that of the United States, which has been unequivocal in its condemnation of the ICC. However, it stands in contrast to those of some European countries, including France, Belgium, and Germany, which haven’t brought up any concern with the equivalencing.
On May 20, the chief prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, said he had applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who he said are responsible for “war crimes and crimes against humanity.” He said his team had found evidence that Israel had “intentionally and systematically” deprived Gaza civilians of essential supplies.
Mr. Khan said he had also applied for arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, and Ismail Haniyeh for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The war in Gaza started after Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with Israel launching an offensive to eradicate Hamas.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said on May 21 that while Canada respects the independence of the ICC, it also “understands that it is entirely inappropriate to equate ... the terrorist leaders of a terrorist organization with the democratically elected leaders of a democracy.” She also reiterated calls for a ceasefire and said the “ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Gaza is entirely unacceptable.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly also said Canada would respect the independence of the ICC and its processes, but rejected cutting ties with the state of Israel because “one organization is a terrorist organization, the other one is a state.”
“Let me be clear, we reject the ICC’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders,” President Joe Biden said at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House on May 20.
“Whatever these warrants may imply, there’s no equivalence between Israel and Hamas,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the ICC prosecutor’s action “shameful,” adding that Hamas is a “brutal terrorist organization that carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and is still holding dozens of innocent people hostage, including Americans.”
