France and Belgium have voiced their support for the world's top war crimes court's arrest warrant requests for leaders of Israel and Hamas on genocide charges.
The EU countries each released statements supporting the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision late Monday.
ICC top prosecutor Karim Khan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders – Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh – of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
While Netanyahu and Gallant do not face imminent arrest, the announcement Monday was a symbolic blow that deepened Israel's isolation over its brutal war on Gaza.
"France supports the International Criminal Court, its independence, and the fight against impunity in all situations," its Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Monday.
Around the same time Belgium Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib posted on X, "Crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators," along with a statement.
On Tuesday, China said it hoped the ICC would uphold an "objective" position over the arrest warrants.
"It is hoped that the ICC will uphold its objective and impartial position and exercise its powers in accordance with the law," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, while calling for an end to the "collective punishment of the Palestinian people."
Italy's foreign minister, however, said it was "unacceptable" to equate the Israeli democratic government with Hamas.
"It seems to me truly singular, I would say unacceptable, to equate a government legitimately elected by the people in a democracy with a ... organization that is the cause of everything that is happening in the Middle East," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told a TV show.
Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders dismissed the move as disgraceful and anti-Semitic, while their main ally United States President Joe Biden lambasted the prosecutor and supported Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas.
