JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the war crimes prosecutor’s move to demand his arrest as a “disgrace” and an attack on the Israeli army and all of Israel.
In a statement, Netanyahu also vowed to continue Israel’s war against Hamas militants.
Netanyahu called the request for an arrest warrant “absurd” and accused the prosecution of anti-Semitism.
“As Prime Minister of Israel, I reject with disgust the Hague prosecutor’s comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murders of Hamas,” he said. “No pressure and no decision in any international forum will stop us from attacking those who seek to destroy us.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
JERUSALEM (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday condemned as “outrageous” an effort by the chief prosecutor of the world’s top war crimes crimes to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with those of Hamas. actions during their seven-month war.
In a sharply worded statement, Biden rejected the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor’s demand for the arrest of Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, saying: “Whatever this prosecutor may imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas.”
“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Biden added.
The court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, accused Netanyahu, Gallant and three Hamas leaders – Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh – of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
A three-judge panel will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants and whether the case will proceed.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
JERUSALEM (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the world’s highest war crimes court said Monday he is seeking arrest warrants against leaders of Israel and Hamas, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for actions taken during their seven-month war.
Although an immediate arrest is not imminent for Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the announcement by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor was a symbolic blow that has deepened Israel’s isolation over the war in Gaza. Israeli leaders condemned the move as shameful and anti-Semitic.
The court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, accused Netanyahu, Gallant and three Hamas leaders – Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh – of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
A three-judge panel will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants and whether the case will proceed. The judges usually take two months to make such decisions.
Israel is not a member of the court, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant are not at immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for Israeli leaders to travel abroad.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the chief prosecutor’s decision against its leaders “is a historic shame that will be remembered forever.” He said he would work with world leaders to ensure that such orders are not imposed on Israeli leaders.
Hamas also denounced the ICC prosecutor’s request to arrest its leaders, saying it “equates the victim with the executioner.”
Netanyahu is under intense pressure at home to end the war as quickly as possible. Thousands of Israelis have joined weekly demonstrations calling on the government to reach an agreement on bringing home Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity, fearing time is running out.
In recent days, the two other members of his war cabinet, Gallant and Benny Gantz, have threatened to resign if Netanyahu does not set out a clear post-war vision for Gaza.
But on Monday, Netanyahu received wall-to-wall support as politicians from across the spectrum condemned the ICC prosecutor’s move. Among them were Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his two main political rivals, Gantz and opposition leader Yair Lapid.
It is unclear what effect Khan’s move will have on Netanyahu’s public standing. The possibility of an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, whose popularity has waned during the war, could give him a boost as Israelis rally behind the flag. But his opponents could also blame him for bringing a diplomatic catastrophe to the country.
Yuval Shany, an expert on international law at Hebrew University and the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem-based think tank, said it was far more certain that Netanyahu’s already troubled international position could be further weakened.
“This will make Netanyahu an outcast, and his ability to move around the world will be seriously compromised,” Shany said. Even if the ICC does not issue the arrest warrant, other countries may now be more reluctant to provide support and assistance, he said.
Hamas is already considered an international terrorist group by the West. Both Sinwar and Deif are believed to be hiding in Gaza. But Haniyeh, the Islamic militant group’s supreme leader, is based in Qatar and regularly travels around the region. Qatar, like Israel, is not a member of the ICC.
The latest war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, when Gaza militants invaded Israel and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage.
Since then, Israel has waged a brutal campaign to dismantle Hamas in Gaza. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, at least half of them women and children, according to the latest estimates from health officials in Gaza.
The war has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, displacing roughly 80% of the population and pushing hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of starvation, according to UN officials.
Speaking about the Israeli actions, Khan said that “the effects of using famine as a method of war, along with other attacks and collective punishments against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and well known. … These include malnutrition, dehydration, severe suffering and an increasing number of deaths among the Palestinian population, including infants, other children and women.”
The United Nations and other aid agencies have repeatedly accused Israel of hampering aid efforts during the war. Israel denies this, saying there are no restrictions on aid entering Gaza, and accuses the UN of failing to distribute aid.
Regarding the Hamas actions on October 7, Khan, who visited the region in December, said he had seen firsthand “the devastating scenes of these attacks and the profound impact of the unscrupulous crimes charged in today’s applications.”
In their rampage, Hamas militants shot dozens of revelers at a dance party and killed entire families as they huddled in their homes. “These actions require accountability,” Khan said.
Israel is also facing a South African case at the International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest court, accusing Israel of genocide. Israel denies these accusations.
The ICC was established in 2002 as the permanent court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the world’s most heinous atrocities: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.
The UN General Assembly supported the ICC, but the court is independent.
Dozens of countries do not accept the court’s jurisdiction over war crimes, genocide and other crimes. These include Israel, the United States, Russia and China.
The ICC becomes involved when countries are unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes on their territory. Israel claims it has a functioning legal system.
The ICC accepted “The State of Palestine” as a member in 2015, a year after the Palestinians accepted the court’s jurisdiction.
The court’s then chief prosecutor announced in 2021 that he would open an investigation into possible crimes on Palestinian territory. Israel often leveled accusations of bias at the UN and international bodies, and Netanyahu condemned the decision as hypocritical and anti-Semitic.
In 2020, then US President Donald Trump approved economic and travel sanctions against the ICC prosecutor and another senior prosecutor. The ICC staff investigated US and allied forces for possible war crimes in Afghanistan.
US President Joe Biden lifted sanctions in 2021.
Last year, the court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of responsibility for the kidnappings of children from Ukraine. Russia responded by issuing its own arrest warrants against Khan and ICC judges.
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Molly Quell in Delft, Netherlands, and Mike Corder in Ede, Netherlands, contributed.
