Borrell says several European countries are trying to intimidate JNP judges

He called on them not to access “and respect the court.

JNP chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Monday that he has applied for issuing warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as against three of Hamas' leaders, the group declared terrorist by the United States and the EU.

The prosecutor has done nothing more than one charge, and the court will decide. I call on all of them, starting with the Israeli government and several European governments, not to intimidate judges”, Borrell told Spanish broadcaster TVE.

“Don't threaten them, don't try to influence their decisions, sometimes with threats and very severe disqualification”, he added.

Khan does not believe Netanyahu, Gallant, and three of Hamas' leaders -- Yehaia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haneyeh -- are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel, at least from October 7th 2023.

Both Israel and Hamas have condemned Khan's request for allegedly arresting their leaders.

Israel denies it is committing war crimes in Gaza and says the JNP has no jurisdiction there.

Several countries have condemned the JNP prosecutor's decision to seek warrants for Israeli leaders, including the United States, Israel's leading ally, who is not part of the JNP.

Israel started the war in Gaza in response to an attack by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, where 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were killed and some 250 others were kidnapped.

Israeli war has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, half of whom children and women, according to Hamas officials.

But Israeli war has also caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, causing about 80 per cent of the population to shift and hundreds of thousands of people to suffer from hunger, according to UN officials. / REL