The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium today welcomed the request by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants against its leaders Israel and her Hamas speaking of a “significant step”, arguing that crimes committed in the Gaza Strip “must be prosecuted at the highest level”.

“Crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators. The fight against impunity where crimes are committed is a priority for Belgium,” said Hadja Labib in a statement.

“The request by the Prosecutor of the Court, Karim Khan, to issue arrest warrants against both Hamas leaders and Israeli officials is an important step in the investigation of the situation in Palestine,” he added.

For his part, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, condemned the move of the ICC, describing it as “disgusting and completely unacceptable”. “The proposal by the Prosecutor General of the ICC to issue an arrest warrant for the representatives of a democratically elected government together with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organization is abhorrent and completely unacceptable,” he wrote in a post on X.

Earlier today, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested the issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.

Karim Khan said he is seeking arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallad for crimes including “deliberately inflicting starvation on civilians,” “intentional murder” and “extermination or murder.”

The charges against Hamas leaders, including Yahya Shinuar, include “extermination,” “rape and other forms of sexual violence and hostage-taking as a war crime.”