Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz - a political rival of Benjamin Netanyahu - has denounced the decision of the ICC's prosecutor to apply for an arrest warrant for the PM.
"Drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a bloodthirsty terror organisation is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy," he said.
The leader of the opposition Yair Lapid condemned the announcement by calling it "a disaster".
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International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has asked the Pre-Trial Chamber to issue arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders, according to the official’s statement.
ReplyDeleteThe prosecutor also requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
ReplyDeleteThe International Criminal Court (ICC) potentially issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant points to the possible collapse of the world judicial system in the near future, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said.
ReplyDelete"The announcement of the prosecutor at the ICC is beyond outrageous, and shows the extent to which the international judicial system is in danger of collapsing," he wrote on his X page. "We expect all leaders in the free world to condemn outright this step and firmly reject it," Herzog added.
According to the Israeli president, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan's announcement that arrest warrants could be issued for Netanyahu and Galant is a "one-sided move represents a unilateral political step that emboldens terrorists around the world, and violates all the basic rules of the court."
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala calls the decision by prosecutor Karim Khan "appalling and completely unacceptable".
ReplyDelete"We must not forget that it was Hamas that attacked Israel in October and killed, injured and kidnapped thousands of innocent people. It was this completely unprovoked terrorist attack that led to the current war in Gaza and the suffering of civilians in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon," he says on X.
But Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib welcomes the move, saying Belgium supports the ICC.
"Crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators. The request submitted by the court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, for arrest warrants against both Hamas and Israeli officials is an important step in the investigation of the situation in Palestine," she says.
Israel's President Isaac Herzog has shared his reaction to the ICC announcement, describing it as "beyond outrageous" and saying it "shows the extent to which the international judicial system is in danger of collapsing".
ReplyDeleteHe says it is a "one-sided move" which "represents a unilateral political step that emboldens terrorists around the world, and violates all the basic rules of the court".
Hitting out at Hamas, Herzog goes on to say that "any attempt to draw parallels between these atrocious terrorists and a democratically elected government of Israel... is outrageous" and cannot be accepted.