Buenos Aires – The upcoming arrival of the Israeli Prime Minister accused of war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of Gaza puts Argentina at a historic crossroads. President Javier Miley’s silence is an accomplice and a disgrace to justice.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Argentina, scheduled for September, is a red warning, a direct challenge to international justice and a humiliation to human dignity. Since late 2024, the Israeli Prime Minister has been under an ICC arrest warrant for war crimes in Gaza. This is not a legal technique or diplomatic e-music representation. We talk about systematic bombing, intentional attacks on women and children, starvation used as weapons of war, and deaths of over 61,000 people, mostly innocent civilians. Moreover, brutal oppression silences almost every journalist trying to report from Gaza, mutes his voice and hides the truth.
Argentina has been a Roman law party since 2001 and has signed all cooperation agreements with the ICC. This means that if Netanyahu stepped into Argentinean soil, the law would require him to be arrested immediately. This is not a matter of political will. This is a ratified and binding international commitment.
However, the government of fascist and obedient Javier Mairei, along with the orders of Tel Aviv and Washington, has already made it clear that they will not lift their fingers to enforce justice. It prefers ideological accomplices with the genocide regime rather than respecting its commitment to international law.
Protesters have signs denounced President Javier Mairi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on August 9 in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Francisco Loureiro/Reuters)
The ICC lacks its own police force and relies on the state to carry out its duties. Article 87, Article 8 of the Roman Act establishes that if the party refuses to cooperate, the court can issue a “recognition of non-cooperation” and refer to international organisations such as the Parliament of the Party and the UN Security Council. Therefore, Mairay risks turning Argentina into a country that is complicit in war crimes and protects it.
The accusations against Netanyahu and the state of Israel are not just from overseas. Israeli human rights groups (PHRI), including B’Tselem and human rights physicians, have named the situation in Gaza genocide. “We are not prepared to realize that you are part of a society that is violating genocide,” says Yuli Novak, director of B’tselem.
In Argentina, a wide coalition of political groups, intellectuals, teachers, agents and human rights groups strongly rejected the visit. Under the title “Oprobrium and Ingominy,” a recent statement denounces Netanyahu’s existence as “the betrayal of the finest humanitarian traditions of our history” and “accomplice with the wild bar.” The text questioned the geopolitical integrity of the Argentine government with Israel and the United States, and announced that the administrative agencies openly support Israel’s military strategy, announced the relocation of the Argentine embassy to Jerusalem, and that they would forever change the value of dignity, respect and freedom.
The Argentine Commission on solidarity between the Palestinians and their constituents has expressed their absolute denial. Netanyahu represents a systematic violation of international law, responsible for the deaths of thousands, the displacement of millions, and the voluntary detention of more than 6,000 Palestinians under countless conditions. Israeli atrocities are colonialist, separatist, anti-democratic reality, supported by terrorism and genocide in 1948 and Naxa in 1967 to expel and suppress people.
Israel’s international isolation deepens. France, Spain and the UK have announced their perceptions of the Palestinian state and are keeping their distance from the US agenda. Many other countries have denounced genocide, including China, Iran, Russia, Venezuela and Brazil. Mexico offers orphans exile. Consider these disastrous numbers. According to UNICEF, around 17,000 Palestinian children have been orphaned due to Israeli attacks. “The children were forced to flee their homes and seek evacuation elsewhere,” the agency said. More than 100 Gazan children have died of starvation, and another 90,000 are lacking enough food to survive.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu recognizes that it can restrict international travel and that prosecutors from ICC countries can order arrests. Milei chose the irreversible path. It will form an alliance with the government accused of war crimes, announce the embassy’s move to Jerusalem, and deny the voice of international justice. If Netanyahu stepped into Argentina, our country would face a merciless mirror.
(This article reflects the opinions of the authors and is not necessarily the view of the Tehran Times.)