In statements released Friday on the website of the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore and other local news media, Schlein said that “this is an arrest warrant that all signatory countries must comply with and this means that we expect the Italian government to be consistent as well.”

For his part, Giuseppe Conte, leader of the opposition Five Star Movement (M5S), said this international legal provision, based on accusations of war crimes against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, is peremptory and “speaks of criminal madness on the part of the Jewish State.”

Conte described the caution shown by the Italian government as “shameful”, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani saying that “we will see what the content of the decision is and the reasons that led the court to take this decision.”

“We support the ICC, always remembering that the Court must play a legal and not a political role. We will evaluate together with our allies what to do and how to interpret this decision and how to behave together in this matter,” added Tajani.

For his part, the Italian Defense Minister, Guido Crosetto, pointed out that in his opinion it is a “wrong decision, but we will respect the agreements,” and he pointed out that “on the legal level, if Netanyahu came to Italy, we would be obliged to arrest him.”

The ICC issued arrest warrants on Thursday against Netanyahu and Gallant, accused of committing war crimes against humanity and in particular in the Gaza Strip, where they caused the deaths of more than 44,000 Palestinians, as well as unleashing a persecution against that people, and causing famine in the coastal enclave.

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