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Dutch See Options for Netanyahu to Visit Despite ICC Arrest Warrant

Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof talks during a press conference at the Ministry of General Affairs, in The Hague on November 11, 2024. (AFP)
Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof talks during a press conference at the Ministry of General Affairs, in The Hague on November 11, 2024. (AFP)
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Dutch See Options for Netanyahu to Visit Despite ICC Arrest Warrant

Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof talks during a press conference at the Ministry of General Affairs, in The Hague on November 11, 2024. (AFP)
Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof talks during a press conference at the Ministry of General Affairs, in The Hague on November 11, 2024. (AFP)

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof on Friday said there could be options for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the Netherlands without being arrested, despite the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

His words seemed to tone down a previous stance by his foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp, who last week in parliament said the Netherlands fully cooperates with the ICC, explaining that meant "we act on arrest warrants for people who are on Dutch territory".

Schoof on Friday said there were still scenarios within the Netherlands' duties towards the ICC in which Netanyahu would not be arrested, depending on the reason of his visit.

"The most important thing is that we have obligations that come from the treaty (on which the ICC is based), and that we comply to them," Schoof said at a news conference.

"In light of that, we would have to see how we act when the prime minister of Israel were to come to the Netherlands. There are possible scenarios, also within international law, in which he would be able to come to the Netherlands without being arrested."

Schoof did not elaborate on the circumstances under which Netanyahu could come. Last week he said it might be possible for Netanyahu to visit an international organization located in the Netherlands, such as the UN watchdog for chemical weapons OPCW, without being arrested.

The Netherlands is also host nation to the ICC, which is located in The Hague.

The ICC issued arrest warrants last week for Netanyahu, his former defense chief Yoav Gallant and a Hamas leader, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.

Though all EU member states are signatories to the ICC's founding treaty, France said on Wednesday it believed Netanyahu had immunity to actions by the ICC, given Israel has not signed up to the court statutes.

Italy has said it is not feasible to arrest Netanyahu as long as he remains head of Israel's government.

Israel, which launched its offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas's deadly attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, has said it will appeal against the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

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Moroccan Community Calls for Calm after Anti-migrant Clashes in Spanish Town

A man throws an object at police, amid anti-migrant unrest following an attack on an elderly man by unknown assailants earlier in the week, in Torre Pacheco, Spain, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
A man throws an object at police, amid anti-migrant unrest following an attack on an elderly man by unknown assailants earlier in the week, in Torre Pacheco, Spain, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
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Moroccan Community Calls for Calm after Anti-migrant Clashes in Spanish Town

A man throws an object at police, amid anti-migrant unrest following an attack on an elderly man by unknown assailants earlier in the week, in Torre Pacheco, Spain, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
A man throws an object at police, amid anti-migrant unrest following an attack on an elderly man by unknown assailants earlier in the week, in Torre Pacheco, Spain, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

Moroccan community leaders in the Spanish town of Torre Pacheco called for calm following four nights of clashes between North African migrants and the far-right, in some of the worst such unrest in the country in recent times.

Police have detained at least 14 people so far over the clashes that flared up on Friday after an attack last week on a local man in his 60s.

Far-right groups have called for anti-migrant protests on Tuesday and over 120 Civil Guard officers have been deployed to maintain security in the town, a government spokesperson for the region said, Reuters reported.

Authorities said three Moroccan citizens suspected of involvement in the assault have been apprehended, including a 19-year-old alleged to be the main perpetrator. He was detained on Monday evening in northern Spain on assault and battery charges.

A spokesperson for the central government's office in the Murcia region said none of the suspects lived in Torre Pacheco.

After xenophobic messages on social media to "hunt down" residents of North African origin, leaders of the local Moroccan community urged calm and advised younger members to remain in their homes after dozens took to the streets over the weekend and on Monday, clashing with far-right groups and police.

"We want peace ... We don't want criminals, we don't want violence or people who come from outside to make trouble here," Abdelali, an informal spokesperson for the Moroccan community who has lived in the town for 25 years, told reporters.

Police arrested three people overnight after a confrontation with dozens of young men in the San Antonio neighbourhood, home to a majority of the town's first- and second generation migrants who represent nearly a third of the town's population of 40,000, according to local government data.

Reuters footage showed some of the protesters, mostly masked, lobbing fireworks at officers clad in riot gear, who responded by firing rubber bullets.

HATE CRIMES INVESTIGATION

Spain's top hate crimes prosecutor, Miguel Angel Aguilar, told SER radio on Tuesday that his office was investigating the events in Torre Pacheco, as well as social media messages inciting violence towards migrants.

He also confirmed regional prosecutors were looking at statements by the leader of far-right party Vox in Murcia, Jose Angel Antelo, who is accused by Spain's ruling Socialist Party of linking immigration to criminality in speeches, media appearances and posts on X.

Late on Monday, the messaging app Telegram shuttered a channel named "DeportThemNowSpain" for "inciting violence".

Reuters reviewed dozens of messages in the channel that included expletive-laden calls to attack Moroccans residing in Torre Pacheco or set fire to their homes.

The Spanish Interior Ministry said police in Mataro, near Barcelona, had arrested an unnamed leader of supremacist movement "Deport Them Now Europe" suspected of inciting hatred and seized two computers.