Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants for war crimes against him and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, calling it "antisemitic." He accused the ICC of "falsely" alleging that they were "deliberately targeting civilians," adding, "this when we do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties."
The ICC has also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, whom Israel claims was killed in Gaza in July. ICC judges stated there were “reasonable grounds” to believe the three men were "criminally responsible" for crimes committed during the Israel-Hamas war.
US President Joe Biden criticized the ICC's action against Israeli officials, describing it as "outrageous."
US President Joe Biden, in a statement, dismissed any parallels between Israel and Hamas, saying, "Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence - none - between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security."
Both Israel and Hamas have rejected the allegations made by the ICC.
In a statement on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the ICC's decision as "a modern Dreyfus trial," likening it to a historical case of antisemitism in France over a century ago. "The antisemitic decision of the international court in The Hague is a modern Dreyfus trial, and it will end the same way," he said.
Netanyahu rejected the ICC's allegations, stating, "The court in The Hague accuses us of a deliberate policy of starvation. This when we have supplied Gaza with 700,000 tons of food to feed the people of Gaza. We issue millions of text messages, phone calls, leaflets to the citizens of Gaza to get them out of harm's way - while the Hamas terrorists do everything in their power to keep them in harm’s way, including shooting them, using them as human shields."
He further declared that Israel would "not recognise the validity" of the ICC's decision.
Meanwhile, the United Nations this week warned of deteriorating conditions for Palestinians in northern Gaza under siege by Israeli forces, stating that virtually no aid had been delivered in 40 days, leaving many "facing diminishing conditions for survival."
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant criticized the ICC's decision, stating that it "placed the state of Israel and the murderous leaders of Hamas in the same row and thus legitimises the murder of babies, the rape of women and the abduction of the elderly from their beds.”
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, while critical of Netanyahu's approach to the conflict with Hamas, also disagreed with the ICC's actions. "Israel has not committed genocide or war crimes that deserve these charges against the prime minister and the minister of defence," Olmert told the BBC's World Tonight programme.
Hamas did not directly address the warrant for Mohammed Deif but welcomed the action against Netanyahu and Gallant, calling it "an important historical precedent, and a correction to a long path of historical injustice against our people." Palestinians in Gaza expressed hope that Israeli leaders would now face justice.
Israel has rejected the allegations of genocide in Gaza, which are the subject of a separate case before the International Court of Justice.
The impact of the ICC warrants will depend on whether the court's 124 member states, excluding Israel and its ally, the US, choose to enforce them. Several European nations have indicated their respect for ICC decisions, with Downing Street affirming that the UK government respects the court's independence.
The ICC prosecutor's case against the three men originates from the events of 7 October 2023, when Hamas gunmen attacked Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza. In response, Israel launched a military campaign aimed at eliminating Hamas, resulting in at least 44,000 deaths in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
For Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, the ICC pre-trial chamber stated there were reasonable grounds to believe he was "responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other form of sexual violence; as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture; taking hostages; outrages upon personal dignity; and rape and other form of sexual violence." It also concluded that the crimes against humanity were "part of a widespread and systematic attack directed by Hamas and other armed groups against the civilian population of Israel."
Regarding Netanyahu and Gallant, the chamber found reasonable grounds to believe they "each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts." It further alleged they "each bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population."
(Source: BBC)
BD-Pratidin English/Mazdud
