ROME: Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Thursday his country would be obliged to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visited, after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant.
The ICC earlier also issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu’s former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif.
Crosetto — whose country holds the G7 rotating presidency this year — told RAI television’s Porta a Porta program that he believed the ICC was “wrong” to put Netanyahu and Gallant on the same level as Hamas.
But he said that if Netanyahu or Gallant “were to come to Italy, we would have to arrest them.”
It was not a political choice but Italy was bound as a member of the ICC to act on the court’s warrants, Crosetto said.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had earlier been more cautious, saying: “We support the ICC, while always remembering that the court must play a legal role and not a political role.
“We will evaluate together with our allies what to do and how to interpret this decision.”
Italy says would have to arrest Netanyahu after ICC warrant
https://arab.news/4cqvx
Italy says would have to arrest Netanyahu after ICC warrant
- Crosetto believed the ICC was “wrong” to put Netanyahu and Gallant on the same level as Hamas
- It was not a political choice but Italy was bound as a member of the ICC to act on the court’s warrants
Iraq takes full control of air base after US withdrawal, defense ministry says
- An Iraqi army colonel confirmed the US forces withdrawal from the base
- There were a few soldiers remaining due to some logistical issues
BAGHDAD: US forces have withdrawn from Iraq’s Ain Al-Asad Airbase, which housed US-led forces in Western Iraq, and the Iraqi army has assumed full control, the Iraqi defense ministry said on Saturday.
In 2024, Washington and Baghdad reached an understanding on plans for the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq and a move toward a bilateral security relationship.
Ain Al-Asad has hosted US and coalition troops for years and has been repeatedly targeted by Iran-backed armed groups during periods of heightened regional tensions, including after the 2020 US killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
An Iraqi army colonel confirmed the US forces withdrawal from the base, saying there were a few soldiers remaining due to some logistical issues. He did not give further details for security reasons.
It was not immediately clear when the withdrawal started, but the initial plan stipulated that hundreds of troops would leave by September 2025, with the rest departing by the end of 2026.
