Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opted against taking a stance on a push from the International Criminal Court to prosecute the Israeli prime minister and Hamas leaders over the war in the Gaza Strip Tuesday.
The court91裸聊视频檚 chief prosecutor requested arrest warrants Monday for Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence minister and senior Hamas leaders.
91裸聊视频淭he International Criminal Court is independent in its work, and I91裸聊视频檝e said from the very beginning how important it is that everyone respect and abide by international law,91裸聊视频� Trudeau said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference in Philadelphia.
91裸聊视频淲hat I will say is troubling though, is the sense of an equivalency between the democratically elected leaders of Israel and the bloodthirsty terrorists that lead up Hamas. I don91裸聊视频檛 think that91裸聊视频檚 helpful.91裸聊视频�
Trudeau and his ministers weighed in on the case a day after peer countries took clearer stances, with the U.S. on Monday rejecting a move to implicate Israel, while France and Belgium supported the decision.
Jewish and Muslim groups in Canada have mounted petition campaigns, asking Ottawa to take a decisive stance.
Foreign Affairs Minister M茅lanie Joly says Canada is 91裸聊视频渧ery closely91裸聊视频� following the case and also raised concerns about an equivalency being drawn, while noting that the court is suggesting different charges for each side of the conflict.
91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 no equivalency, because one organization91裸聊视频檚 a terrorist organization; the other one is a state. That being said, (the) charges that have been laid are different.91裸聊视频�
She also wouldn91裸聊视频檛 say whether Canada would arrest Israeli officials if they did end up subject of an international arrest warrant and visited Canada, saying that this is a theoretical situation. Joly added that senior Hamas leaders are already barred from Canada due to terrorism and sanctions laws.
A handful of vocal Liberal MPs have taken more definitive stances since news of the arrest warrants were announced.
Iqra Khalid, who represents a Toronto-area riding, said in a post on X that Canada must respect the ICC and its independence.
Anthony Housefather, whose Montreal riding has a large Jewish population, argued the decision was drawing a moral equivalency between terrorist leaders and democratically elected politicians.
Their Toronto colleague Salma Zahid said Ottawa should support the ICC91裸聊视频檚 legal process, arguing its role is 91裸聊视频渘ot to judge moral equivalence, but to impartially consider the evidence.91裸聊视频�
Another Montreal MP, Sameer Zuberi, added in his own social-media post that Canada must await the result of the request, while noting that 91裸聊视频渘o party to an armed conflict is above the law.91裸聊视频�
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was repeatedly asked for Canada91裸聊视频檚 position on the developments earlier Tuesday at an unrelated press conference.
91裸聊视频淚t is entirely inappropriate to equate the terrorist leaders of a terrorist organization with the democratically elected leaders of a democracy,91裸聊视频� she said.
But Freeland would not comment on whether or not Ottawa supports the request for warrants to be issued, characterizing that as 91裸聊视频減reliminary91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频渉ypothetical.91裸聊视频�
The Liberals and NDP passed a parliamentary motion in March that called on Canada to 91裸聊视频渟upport the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.91裸聊视频�
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in a social-media post that Trudeau 91裸聊视频渕ust respect his promise to Canadians,91裸聊视频� and asked for clarity in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
