Sumar calls for Spanish cooperation in ICC investigation of Netanyahu

6 months ago 20

Spain should cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for crimes committed during the war on Gaza, Sumar leader and Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz said on Wednesday, the day Madrid announced it would join Norway and Ireland in recognising Palestinian statehood on 28 May.

In statements to the press, Díaz, who is also labour minister, stressed that the government will continue to work to “clarify” and “investigate Mr Netanyahu as a criminal”, adding that “it is a step that we have to encourage and accompany together with other countries so that, at last, the barbarity ceases”, Euractiv’s partner EFE reported.

Both Sumar, which has 31 seats in parliament, and its former far-left ally Podemos, which has five MPs, have repeatedly described Israel’s military response to the Hamas terror attack in October 2023 as disproportionate and “genocide”.

Sumar sources on Wednesday called for Spain to follow the “example” of South Africa, which has asked the other Hague-based court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to demand that Israel implement measures to prevent the “genocide” of civilians in the Gaza Strip.

The international judicial offensive against those responsible for crimes in the region increased on Monday when the International Criminal Court‘s (ICC) prosecutor said he had requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his defence chief and Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.

Although Madrid’s announcement that it would recognise Palestinian statehood was warmly welcomed by the Spanish left, Sumar says it is still not enough.

According to Díaz, Spain should also join the UN in its efforts to investigate Netanyahu’s “crimes”.

In this sense, Díaz said on Wednesday that Sumar wants the Israeli prime minister to be tried for the “genocide that he is carrying out (…)”.

Regarding the conflict, and despite the imminent recognition of Palestine as a state by Madrid, Oslo and Dublin, Díaz believes that “much remains to be done” to “achieve a ceasefire” in the region.

Díaz had harsh words for Netanyahu, whom she singled out for “his impunity in the face of genocide, the likes of which we have never known before”.

Breaking relations with Israel

However, for Podemos leader and former colleague of Díaz, Ione Belarra, Spain should take a bold step and break diplomatic relations with Israel.

“With our (taxpayers’) money, they are buying arms from Israel so that it can continue to finance genocide”, said Belarra, as she launched a scathing attack on Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) for not “daring” to break diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv.

According to Belarra, Sánchez has not dared to take such a step because Spain “is an ally of the United States and you (the government), unfortunately, always pay obeisance to the US”, Belarra told parliament.

“We would like to know with what borders you intend to recognise the Palestinian state and how you are going to guarantee that Israel respects it”, the Podemos leader asked Sánchez while stressing that the most urgent thing now is to “stop Netanyahu”.

According to medical sources in Gaza, more than 35,000 people have died in the area since the start of Israel’s military offensive in October 2023, the vast majority of them civilians.

Harsh criticism from PP and VOX

However, Madrid’s decision was sharply criticised by the leader of Spain’s main opposition party, the Partido Popular (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo.

The PP leader accused the Spanish prime minister of celebrating the decision of Hamas, a “terrorist group that mutilated children, raped children, tortured young people and murdered hundreds of people”, that –firstly- celebrated this decision.

“What are you going to recognise? What territory? What are the borders? With what political regime? Who is going to be your interlocutor? Hamas?” the PP leader asked Sánchez.

Meanwhile, Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right Vox party, the third largest force in parliament, accused Sánchez of bowing to Hamas and accepting the terrorist group’s narrative by “rewarding” it with the “unilateral” decision to recognise Palestinian statehood.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)