South Korea's Lee Weighs Netanyahu Arrest Over 1 Citizen's Gaza Flotilla Detention
Updated
Updated · The Jerusalem Post · May 20
South Korea's Lee Weighs Netanyahu Arrest Over 1 Citizen's Gaza Flotilla Detention
10 articles · Updated · The Jerusalem Post · May 20
Lee Jae-myung ordered a review of whether South Korea should arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister enters its territory, after a South Korean activist was detained on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
At a Blue House cabinet meeting, Lee called Israel's seizure of the vessel on May 18 illegal and asked what legal basis it had to stop a third-country ship carrying aid workers.
Lee said the detention of citizen Kim Dong-hyun had gone "far beyond acceptable limits" and argued Seoul had tolerated too much already, even if the activists had ignored government recommendations.
National Security Director Wi Sung-lac told Lee there is an ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu, prompting Lee to say that made him a war criminal.
The clash sharpens South Korea's response to the Gaza war by tying a consular dispute over 1 detained citizen to possible action against a sitting foreign leader.
If Netanyahu visits Seoul, will South Korea actually arrest him based on the ICC warrant?
Is South Korea's bold stance on Israel a sign of a permanent break from its traditionally cautious foreign policy?
How will Seoul's challenge to Israel affect its tense alliance with the United States?