MADRID: EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell on Friday urged Israel “not to intimidate” or “threaten” the judges of the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor has requested arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defense minister.
“I ask everyone, starting with the Israeli government, but also certain European governments, not to intimidate the judges, not to threaten them,” Borrell said during an interview with Spanish public television TVE, calling for “respect for the International Criminal Court.”
What the court’s prosecutor “has done in presenting a case should not be considered as an anti-Semitic attitude,” the former Spanish foreign minister added.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said Monday that he requested arrest warrants for as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as top Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohamed Deif, on suspicions of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
While he said the Palestinian militant chiefs could be culpable of “extermination,” “rape and other acts of sexual violence” and “taking hostages as a war crime,” he accused the Israelis of “starvation,” “wilful killing,” and “extermination and/or murder.”
Netanyahu said he rejected “with disgust ... the comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas,” and Biden also stressed that “there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.”
The warrants, if granted by the ICC judges, would mean that any of the 124 ICC member states would technically be obliged to arrest Netanyahu and the others if they traveled there. However the court has no mechanism to enforce its orders.
The Gaza war broke out after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,800 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Friday said that recognizing a Palestinian state was not a gift to Hamas.
Ireland, Norway and Spain said on Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, to help secure a halt to Israel’s Gaza offensive after the Hamas attack on Oct.7 and revive peace talks that stalled a decade ago.
“Recognizing the Palestinian state is not a gift to Hamas, quite the contrary,” he said. “The Palestinian authority is not Hamas, on the contrary they are deeply confronted.”
He added the EU already talked, financed and met the Palestinian authority.
“Every time someone makes the decision to support a Palestinian state, ... the reaction of Israel is to transform it in an antisemitic attack,” he added.
![]()
EU’s Borrell urges Israel ‘not to intimidate,’ ‘threaten’ ICC judges
Short Url
https://arab.news/6jznn
EU’s Borrell urges Israel ‘not to intimidate,’ ‘threaten’ ICC judges
- The warrants, if granted by the ICC judges, would mean that any of the 124 ICC member states would technically be obliged to arrest Netanyahu and the others
US moves to counter China in Bangladesh, plans to pitch defense alternatives
DHAKA: The United States is concerned about China’s expanding presence in South Asia and is planning to offer Bangladesh’s next government US and allied defense systems as alternatives to Chinese hardware, Washington’s ambassador to Dhaka told Reuters. Bangladesh votes in a general election on Thursday after a Gen Z-led uprising toppled India-allied premier Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. She has since taken refuge in New Delhi, allowing China to deepen its influence in Bangladesh as India’s presence wanes. China recently signed a defense agreement with Bangladesh to build a drone factory near the India border, worrying foreign diplomats. Bangladesh is also in talks with Pakistan to buy JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, a multi-role combat aircraft jointly developed with China.
“The United States is concerned about growing Chinese influence in South Asia and is committed to working closely with the Bangladeshi government to clearly communicate the risks of certain types of engagement with China,” US Ambassador Brent T. Christensen said in an interview on Tuesday.
“The US offers a range of options to help Bangladesh meet its military capability needs, including US systems and those from allied partners, to provide alternatives to Chinese systems,” he said without offering further details.
The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Christensen also said that President Donald Trump’s administration would “like to see a good relationship between Bangladesh and India to support stability in the region.” New Delhi-Dhaka relations have nosedived since Hasina fled, badly affecting visa services and cricket ties between the two neighbors.
COMMERCIAL DIPLOMACY IS PRIORITY
Christensen said many US businesses were looking at potentially investing in Bangladesh but would want the next government to show early and clear signs that it is “open for business.”
“Commercial diplomacy is one of our top priorities, and we look forward to working with the new government to build on progress made with the interim government, particularly in strengthening commercial, economic, and security ties,” he said.
Energy producer Chevron has been in Bangladesh for decades but not many other US companies are visible in the densely populated country of 175 million people, as high taxes and difficulties repatriating profits have created some hurdles.
There are no Starbucks or McDonald’s outlets in Bangladesh.
The envoy said Washington would work with “whichever government is elected by the Bangladeshi people.” The race is between two coalitions led by former allies, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, with opinion polls suggesting the BNP holds an advantage.
AID FOR ROHINGYA REFUGEES
Regarding the 1.2 million Rohingya refugees sheltered in Bangladesh, the ambassador said the United States remained the largest contributor to humanitarian operations.
“The US remains the largest contributor to the Rohingya refugee response and continues robust health programming in Bangladesh,” he said, noting a recent $2 billion worldwide funding framework signed with the United Nations to improve the effectiveness of such assistance, including in Bangladesh.
He urged other international donors to take on a greater share of the burden.
“The US cannot sustain the bulk of the effort alone. International partners need to increase their support for the Rohingya response,” he said. In recent years, the UN refugee agency has been struggling to raise sufficient funds to support the Rohingya community, leading to cuts in their rations and the closure of some schools for them.
“The United States is concerned about growing Chinese influence in South Asia and is committed to working closely with the Bangladeshi government to clearly communicate the risks of certain types of engagement with China,” US Ambassador Brent T. Christensen said in an interview on Tuesday.
“The US offers a range of options to help Bangladesh meet its military capability needs, including US systems and those from allied partners, to provide alternatives to Chinese systems,” he said without offering further details.
The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Christensen also said that President Donald Trump’s administration would “like to see a good relationship between Bangladesh and India to support stability in the region.” New Delhi-Dhaka relations have nosedived since Hasina fled, badly affecting visa services and cricket ties between the two neighbors.
COMMERCIAL DIPLOMACY IS PRIORITY
Christensen said many US businesses were looking at potentially investing in Bangladesh but would want the next government to show early and clear signs that it is “open for business.”
“Commercial diplomacy is one of our top priorities, and we look forward to working with the new government to build on progress made with the interim government, particularly in strengthening commercial, economic, and security ties,” he said.
Energy producer Chevron has been in Bangladesh for decades but not many other US companies are visible in the densely populated country of 175 million people, as high taxes and difficulties repatriating profits have created some hurdles.
There are no Starbucks or McDonald’s outlets in Bangladesh.
The envoy said Washington would work with “whichever government is elected by the Bangladeshi people.” The race is between two coalitions led by former allies, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, with opinion polls suggesting the BNP holds an advantage.
AID FOR ROHINGYA REFUGEES
Regarding the 1.2 million Rohingya refugees sheltered in Bangladesh, the ambassador said the United States remained the largest contributor to humanitarian operations.
“The US remains the largest contributor to the Rohingya refugee response and continues robust health programming in Bangladesh,” he said, noting a recent $2 billion worldwide funding framework signed with the United Nations to improve the effectiveness of such assistance, including in Bangladesh.
He urged other international donors to take on a greater share of the burden.
“The US cannot sustain the bulk of the effort alone. International partners need to increase their support for the Rohingya response,” he said. In recent years, the UN refugee agency has been struggling to raise sufficient funds to support the Rohingya community, leading to cuts in their rations and the closure of some schools for them.
Latest updates
Recommended
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.