Netanyahu blasts ICC arrest warrants as 'pure antisemitism and a moral disgrace of the highest order'
ICC prosecutor urges court to issue ‘urgent’ arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant and Sinwar
All Israel News Staff | September 11, 2024
https://allisrael.com/netanyahu-blasts-icc-arrest-warrants
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. (Photo: Peter Dejong/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)
The International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan requested on Tuesday that the court issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “with utmost urgency.”
Khan made the initial request for the warrants in May and expressed frustration with the court’s delay. In his filing to the court’s chamber of judges, he said such warrants were necessary due to “ongoing criminality” and against the backdrop of a “worsening situation in Palestine.”
Israel’s Prime Minister's Office said in response, “The comparison made by the prosecutor in The Hague between the Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel, which is fighting murderous Hamas terrorism in accordance with the laws of war, and the war criminal Sinwar, who executed Israeli hostages in cold blood, is pure antisemitism and a moral disgrace of the highest order.”
“Unfortunately, we have seen from the beginning that the proceedings in The Hague are politically biased and have no professional legal basis whatsoever,” read a statement from the PMO.
Khan’s original request included two additional arrest warrants against former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the group’s former military leader Mohammed Deif. The prosecutor dropped the case against Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran on July 31. He is working to confirm the killing of Deif, who according to the IDF, was killed in a strike in southern Gaza on July 13.
Khan’s latest attempt to accelerate the proceedings against Israeli leaders comes as reports emerge that Israel is making appeals to international allies to intervene on her behalf.
In July, some 70 countries, organizations, and individuals submitted amicus briefs to the ICC arguing for or against the warrants. U.S. President Joe Biden called the prosecutor’s May application “
outrageous.” The United Kingdom filed a
brief challenging the court’s jurisdiction over Israel in June.
Khan called on the court to dismiss legal challenges questioning its jurisdiction in the case, claiming the court has an established legal authority to rule on the matter.
If issued, his warrants would seriously hamper the ability of Netanyahu and Gallant to travel abroad. Countries that recognize the ICC’s authority would be bound to arrest the two Israeli leaders upon their arrival in their territory.