Fact-checking viral list of 124 countries that vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu following ICC ruling

By Pascal Ibe

Claim

@DrLoupis has posted a list of 124 that allegedly threatened to arrest Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu following the ICC ruling.

Verdict

The claim is EXAGGERATED. Credible reports confirmed that the only Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Canada, and some nations in the Middle East are countries that have expressed willingness to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu whenever he steps foot on their soil.

Full Text

On 21 November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution, and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza.”

A Palestine activist,t @DrLoupi, shared a list of countries that vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu following the ICC decision.

The post reads, “BREAKING: Due to ICC ARREST WARRANT child killer Netanyahu can’t travel to following 124 countries:

Europe:

1.Andorra 🇦🇩
2.Albania 🇦🇱
3.Armenia 🇦🇲
4.Austria 🇦🇹
5.Belgium 🇧🇪
6.Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦
7.Bulgaria 🇧🇬
8.Croatia 🇭🇷
9.Cyprus 🇨🇾
10.Czech Republic 🇨🇿
11.Denmark 🇩🇰
12.Estonia 🇪🇪
13.Finland 🇫🇮
14.France 🇫🇷
15.Georgia 🇬🇪
16.Germany 🇩🇪
17.Greece 🇬🇷
18.Hungary 🇭🇺
19.Iceland 🇮🇸
20.Ireland 🇮🇪
21.Italy 🇮🇹
22.Latvia 🇱🇻
23.Liechtenstein 🇱🇮
24.Lithuania 🇱🇹
25.Luxembourg 🇱🇺
26.Malta 🇲🇹
27.Montenegro 🇲🇪
28.Netherlands 🇳🇱
29.North Macedonia 🇲🇰
30.Norway 🇳🇴
31.Poland 🇵🇱
32.Portugal 🇵🇹
33.Republic of Moldova 🇲🇩
34.Romania 🇷🇴
35.San Marino 🇸🇲
36.Serbia 🇷🇸
37.Slovakia 🇸🇰
38.Slovenia 🇸🇮
39.Spain 🇪🇸
40.Sweden 🇸🇪
41.Switzerland 🇨🇭
42.United Kingdom 🇬🇧

Africa

43.Algeria 🇩🇿
44.Benin 🇧🇯
45.Botswana 🇧🇼
46.Burkina Faso 🇧🇫
47.Burundi 🇧🇮
48.Cabo Verde 🇨🇻
49.Central African Republic 🇨🇫
50.Chad 🇹🇩
51.Comoros 🇰🇲
52.Congo (Republic of the) 🇨🇬
53.Congo (Democratic Republic of the) 🇨🇩
54.Côte d’Ivoire 🇨🇮
55.Djibouti 🇩🇯
56.Gabon 🇬🇦
57.Gambia 🇬🇲
58.Ghana 🇬🇭
59.Guinea 🇬🇳
60.Kenya 🇰🇪
61.Lesotho 🇱🇸
62.Liberia 🇱🇷
63.Madagascar 🇲🇬
64.Malawi 🇲🇼
65.Mali 🇲🇱
66.Mauritius 🇲🇺
67.Namibia 🇳🇦
68.Niger 🇳🇪
69.Nigeria 🇳🇬
70.Rwanda 🇷🇼
71.Senegal 🇸🇳
72.Seychelles 🇸🇨
73.Sierra Leone 🇸🇱
74.South Africa 🇿🇦
75.Uganda 🇺🇬
76.Zambia 🇿🇲

Asia-Pacific:

77.Afghanistan 🇦🇫
78.Australia 🇦🇺
79.Bangladesh 🇧🇩
80.Cambodia 🇰🇭
81.Cook Islands 🇨🇰
82.Fiji 🇫🇯
83.Japan 🇯🇵
84.Kiribati 🇰🇮
85.Maldives 🇲🇻
86.Marshall Islands 🇲🇭
87.Mongolia 🇲🇳
88.Nauru 🇳🇷
89.New Zealand 🇳🇿
90.Palau 🇵🇼
91.Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬
92.Philippines 🇵🇭
93.Samoa 🇼🇸
94.South Korea 🇰🇷
95.Tajikistan 🇹🇯
96.Timor-Leste 🇹🇱
97.Vanuatu 🇻🇺

Latin America and the Caribbean:

98.Antigua and Barbuda 🇦🇬
99.Argentina 🇦🇷
100.Barbados 🇧🇧
101.Belize 🇧🇿
102.Bolivia 🇧🇴
103.Brazil 🇧🇷
104.Chile 🇨🇱
105.Colombia 🇨🇴
106.Costa Rica 🇨🇷
107.Dominica 🇩🇲
108.Dominican Republic 🇩🇴
109.Ecuador 🇪🇨
110.El Salvador 🇸🇻
111.Grenada 🇬🇩
112.Guatemala 🇬🇹
113.Guyana 🇬🇾
114.Honduras 🇭🇳
115.Mexico 🇲🇽
116.Panama 🇵🇦
117.Paraguay 🇵🇾
118.Peru 🇵🇪
119.Saint Kitts and Nevis 🇰🇳
120.Saint Lucia 🇱🇨
121.Saint Vincent Grenadines 🇻🇨
122.Suriname 🇸🇷
123.Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹
124.Uruguay 🇺🇾

The post generated over 1.7m views, 14k reposts and 45k likes, according to X analytics.

Verification

Europe’s top diplomat Josep Borrell insisted that the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and his former defence secretary should be respected, but European countries are not so sure.

Guido Crosetto, Italy’s defense minister, told RAI television: “We would have to arrest them.”

He added that it was not a political choice but that Italy was bound as a member of the ICC to act on the court’s warrants.

The Netherlands also said it would comply with the arrest warrants.

It followed a call by the European Union on its member states to respect and comply with the arrest warrants following the ICC’s landmark decision.

Simon Harris, Ireland’s prime minister, called the decision an “extremely significant step. These charges could not be more serious”.

“Ireland respects the role of the International Criminal Court. Anyone in a position to assist it in carrying out its vital work must now do so with urgency,” added Mr Harris.

Beyond Europe, Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, said his government will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the International Criminal Court.

He said: “It’s really important that everyone abides by international law. We stand up for international law, and we will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the international courts.”

Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, also said the ICC’s ruling must be respected by its member states.

Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it supported the work of the ICC “fully” and that “those responsible for crimes committed in Israel and Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of who committed them.”

Spain, long one of the bloc’s most persistent and outspoken critics of Israel’s war in Gaza, confirmed on Friday that Netanyahu would be arrested if he traveled there.

Switzerland, Finland, and Portugal have all said they would execute the warrants. However, Norway and several EU member states, including France and Germany, have been non-committal, saying they respect international law but not confirming they would act.

A French foreign ministry spokesperson, Christophe Lemoine, said on Thursday that Paris would react “in line with ICC statutes”. But Lemoine declined to say whether France would arrest the Israeli leaders if they came to the country, saying it was “a point that is legally complex”.

Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said Berlin was examining the warrants. Baerbock said Berlin was “bound by” the court as a country that recognizes the body and respects international law, but the question of whether or not Netanyahu and Gallant would be arrested was “theoretical” for the time being.

A spokesperson for the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said the UK “respects the independence of the ICC,” but there was “no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, which are terrorist organizations.” The spokesperson did not say whether Britain would execute the warrants.

Countries across the Middle East also praised and backed the court, as did South Africa, which has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice. Israel and the U.S. deny those charges.

Hungary’s illiberal prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said he will invite his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, to visit in defiance of an international criminal court arrest warrant, as world leaders split over the ICC’s momentous decision.

Argentina’s prime minister, Javier Milei, an outspoken Netanyahu ally, described the warrants as “an act that distorts the spirit of international justice,” adding: “This resolution ignores Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself against constant attacks by terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.”

Aside these countrie, other nations who are signatories to of the ICC have been silent since the arrest warrant was issued.

Conclusion

Reports indicated that it’s only some EU members, South Africa, and Canada, who expressed willingness to arrest the Israeli Prime Minister. Therefore, the list of 124 countries shared by the X user is EXAGGERATED.