Netanyahu ‘disgusted’ by ICC’s bid to arrest him

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has hit back at the International Criminals Court prosecutors’ application for arrest warrants against him and his defense minister.

The duo and three Hamas leaders are accused of war crimes against humanity in the Middle East.

The ICC’s, Karim Khan, says the charges against Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Deif) and Ismail Haniyeh, emanate from Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, which left 1 200 Israelis dead and 245 of their compatriots taken hostage.

He says they have strong grounds to believe the three were responsible for the ambush.

Israel’s retaliatory attack against Hamas’ strike has resulted in the deaths of more than 34 000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children.

Khan and his team want Netanyahu and Tel Aviv’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, charged for the deaths and the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare as well as willfully causing great suffering, among others.

Netanyahu has labelled the move as absurd.

He believes Israel’s actions cannot be compared to those of Hamas.

“The absurd and false order of the prosecutor in The Hague is not only directed against the Prime Minister of Israel and the Minister of Defense – it is directed against the entire State of Israel. It is directed against the IDF soldiers, who are fighting with supreme heroism against the vile Hamas murderers, who attacked us with terrible cruelty on October 7.”

He has questioned the Khan’s audacity.

“With what audacity do you dare compare the monsters of Hamas to the soldiers of the IDF, the most moral army in the world?! With what audacity you compare between the Hamas that murdered, burned, butchered, raped, and kidnapped our brothers and sisters, and the IDF soldiers who are fighting a just war that is unparalleled in morality that is unmatched.”

“As the prime minister of Israel, I reject with disgust the Hague prosecutor’s comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas,” he concludes.

US President, Joe Biden, agrees with Netanyahu and says there’s no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.

“It’s clear Israel wants to do all it can to ensure civilian protection,” he says.

South Africa has on the other hand welcomed the ICC’s bid.

Pretoria has been pushing for Israel to be held to account for the continued bloodshed in the Gaza Strip.

Last year, it made history when it hauled Israel to the Internationa Court of Justice (ICJ), asking that Tel Aviv be probed for genocide.

“The law must be applied equally to all in order to uphold the international rule of law, ensure accountability for those that commit heinous crimes and protect the rights of victims,” says the President in a statement.

South Africa welcomes decision by ICC Prosecutor on the application for arrest warrants for Israel Prime Minister and Defence Minister and three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity within the context of the Gaza conflict. https://t.co/TaCAosNzd8

— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) May 20, 2024