PASSOVER EDITION 5785 SECTION A PAGE 19
Nicaragua
The Nicaraguan government withdrew this week from proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, a UN tribunal that began investigating Israel in December, 2023 for alleged genocide in Gaza at South Africa’s behest.
Nicaragua was among 14 nations that announced their intention to intervene in the case, a procedure that technically does not mean they back the allegations but that, in practice, was widely seen as a means to bolster the case against Israel.
Other countries announced they would like to participate in the lawsuit alongside South Africa. Those states included Belgium, Cuba, Egypt and Ireland.
Israel has denied allegations of genocide and other war crimes in Gaza and beyond.
Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s foreign minister, reacted to the development with a tweet.
“Better late than never: Nicaragua has withdrawn its morally repugnant intervention in the baseless and outrageous case that was filed by South Africa against Israel at the ICJ. Others that made the same mistake should follow suit,” Sa’ar wrote.
Ortega’s move prompted speculation that it could be connected to the assertive policies that the US under President Donald Trump has taken against hostile and rival regimes, especially in Latin America.
“Question is who and what pressure was placed on Nicaragua by the US or Israel?” Heena Khaled, a London-based manager at the British Future think tank who is critical of Israel, wrote on X.
In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel finds absurd, given the lengths it goes to inform civilians in advance of attacks on Hamas.
Hungary
Hungary will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, the body that issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last year.
The announcement preceded Netanyahu’s arrival in Budapest for a state visit, which comes as he faces multiple scandals at home and as Israel ramps up fighting in Gaza.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a doyen of the European populist right and a longtime Netanyahu ally.
Netanyahu’s trip to the US last month was designed to bring Netanyahu together with President Donald Trump and to shore up support for Israel’s prosecution of its war in Gaza, and saw Trump pledge to take over the Gaza Strip and remove its Palestinian residents — promises that have recently gone unmentioned.
Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary demonstrates that he is able to travel abroad despite the ICC warrant against him, issued over his alleged war conduct.
The US is not party to the ICC.
Hungary had already pledged not to arrest Netanyahu if he traveled to the country.
Several other countries that are party to the ICC and ideological allies with Netanyahu have made the same pledge, as have the moderate leaders of other countries, including France, who argue that the warrants are invalid because Israel is not an ICC member.
Belgium
In a turnabout from the policies of Belgium’s previous government, Prime Minister Bart De Wever on April 3 said his country would ignore a warrant for the arrest of his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu.
“To be completely honest, I don’t think we would either,” De Wever told a journalist from the VRT broadcaster who asked him about Hungary’s decision to ignore the warrant.
“There is such a thing as realpolitik, I don’t think any European country would arrest Netanyahu if he were on their territory. France wouldn’t do it, and I don’t think we would, either,” he said.
Other countries
France, Hungary and Poland are among the countries that said they would not act on the arrest warrant.
Germany and Italy criticized the warrant without explicitly saying they would ignore it.
The Netherlands and Austria are among the countries that criticized it but said they would act on it.
“The prime minister’s words represent a major shift in policy,” Michael Freilich, a lawmaker from De Wever’s party, said.
“Slowly, we are seeing positive changes, also regarding the fight against anti-Semitism and the protection of Jewish institutions.”
De Wever’s center-right government, led by his National Flemish Alliance party, was sworn in on Feb. 3.
It replaced a left-wing coalition where the Socialist Party was the largest partner, which pursued polices hostile to Israel.
Under the previous government, Belgium joined South Africa’s lawsuit at the International Court of Justice — a UN tribunal that is unrelated to the ICC — against Israel for alleged genocide in Gaza.
Belgium’s previous government pledged to uphold the ICC arrest warrant, and at least one of its top ministers urged other countries to do the same.
The previous government’s deputy prime minister, Petra De Sutter, wrote on X in November:
“Europe must comply. Impose economic sanctions, suspend the Association Agreement with Israel and uphold these arrest warrants.”
Former Prime Minister Alexander De Croo appeared to be on board. He stated on Nov. 28 that Belgium would “assume its responsibility” vis-à-vis the ICC as “there can be no double standards.”
Belgium’s about-face comes amid several high-profile failures for the international lawfare campaign against Israel.
When Netanyahu was in Hungary, which is among the 125 countries that accepted the ICC’s jurisdiction and authority, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Hungary would ignore the warrant.
De Wever addressed this in the VRT interview. “To immediately withdraw from the international legal order — that connection, I do not see happening,” he said.
JTA contributed to this story.
