Canadian PM Mark Carney sparks outrage after vowing to enforce ICC’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu; Israeli and Jewish groups slam it as political persecution.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ignited a diplomatic firestorm after declaring that his government would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he entered Canada — a shocking statement that has drawn fierce condemnation from Jewish and pro-Israel organizations worldwide.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Carney said Canada would act “in accordance with the order of the International Criminal Court (ICC)” and “international legal policy.” His comment came days after the ICC in The Hague rejected Israel’s appeal against arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of “war crimes” during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Jerusalem officials have categorically dismissed the ICC ruling as a baseless political attack engineered by anti-Israel factions. “This is not law — it’s lawfare,” a senior Israeli source stated, underscoring that Israel’s actions in Gaza were a legitimate response to the Hamas massacres of October 7.
The Abraham Global Peace Initiative (AGPI), one of Canada’s leading Jewish advocacy groups, demanded an immediate retraction. In a formal letter, AGPI Chairman Avi Avraham Ben-Lulu accused Carney of “endorsing a politicized judicial process that violates Israel’s sovereignty and the integrity of international law.”
AGPI’s statement emphasized that the ICC has no jurisdiction since “Palestine” is not a recognized state, and any enforcement attempt would constitute a betrayal of Canada’s democratic and legal principles. The group warned that Carney’s stance risks legitimizing a “morally inverted narrative that criminalizes self-defense and absolves terrorism.”
Israel’s supporters have called on Ottawa to clarify whether it intends to honor its historic alliance with the Jewish state — or side with a court that, critics say, targets democracies while ignoring terror regimes.
