Benjamin Netanyahu accused International Criminal Court judges of holding “anti-Semitic hatred toward Israel” after it issued arrest warrants against him and the country’s former defence minister.
The Israeli prime minister showed his contempt for the decision by launching a personal attack against Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor.
“The decision was made by a corrupt chief prosecutor attempting to save himself from serious allegations of sexual harassment, and by biased judges driven by anti-Semitic hatred toward Israel,” Mr Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defence minister, have been accused by the ICC of crimes against humanity and war crimes for their role in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The ICC’s decision means the politicians risk being arrested in any of the 124 countries that are signed up to the court.
Both Israel and the US have argued the ICC does not have any jurisdiction over the Jewish state as it is not a member of the court.
“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” the White House said in a firm rebuke of the arrest warrants on Thursday.
“The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter.”
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, the Hamas military chief, who is seen as the orchestrator of the Oct 7 attacks.
Israel claimed to have killed Deif earlier this year, which Hamas is yet to confirm.
An Israeli official told The Telegraph that the arrest warrant was “expected” but that the government considers it an “outrageous, political move”.
“I find it hard to believe that any of Israel’s allies will arrest a sitting prime minister, but we are in touch with all of them now to figure out how to contain the situation,” the official said.
Mr Netanyahu compared the arrest warrants to “a modern-day Dreyfus trial – and it will end in the same way”.
It was in reference to an infamous 19th century court case in which Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jewish army captain, was wrongly convicted of treason.
Mr Netanyahu accused Mr Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, who is British, of “lying” when he told American senators that he would take no action until he had visited Israel.
“Instead, he cancelled his arrival in Israel last May, several days after suspicions of sexual harassment were made against him, and announced his intention to issue arrest warrants,” the prime minister said.
Mr Gallant, who was recently fired by Mr Netanyahu, also delivered an angry reaction to his arrest warrant, saying it will be “remembered in infamy”.
“It places the State of Israel and the murderous Hamas leaders on the same level, thereby legitimising the murder of babies, the rape of women and the kidnapping of elderly people from their beds,” said Mr Gallant.
PM ‘respects independence of the ICC’
Sir Keir Starmer backed the ICC after it issued the warrants.
When asked about the issue, Sir Keir’s official spokesman said the Government respected the independence of the court but declined to say whether Mr Netanyahu would be arrested if he arrived in the UK.
The spokesman said: “We respect the independence of the ICC, which is the primary institutional institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes in relation to international law.
“This Government has been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself in accordance with international law. There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, which are terror groups.
“We remain focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the devastating violence in Gaza.”
Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, described the ICC’s decision as a “dark day for justice and humanity” and said the arrest warrants were issued in “bad faith”.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, echoed accusations of anti-Semitism against the ICC and said the government should respond by annexing the West Bank.
Joe Biden, the US president, said: “The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous.
“Let me be clear once again: 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.”
Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser, said the court should expect “a strong response to the anti-Semitic bias of the ICC and United Nations come January”.
Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator, called on Washington to sanction the ICC in response to its decision.
The arrest warrants were welcomed by Hamas, who said they represented an “important step towards justice”.
Basem Naim, a Hamas official, said: “It can lead to redress for the victims in general, but it remains limited and symbolic if it is not supported by all means by all countries around the world,”
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, also praised the decision, which he said restores “hope and trust not only in international law along with UN institutions, but also in the importance of justice, accountability and prosecution of war criminals”.
‘Beyond the reach of the law’
Some human rights groups also applauded the arrest warrants.
Balkees Jarrah, the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said they “break through the perception that certain individuals are beyond the reach of the law”.
Peace Now, the Israeli NGO, said the war against Hamas has become “disproportionate, allegedly using unlawful means such as starvation. Under Netanyahu’s leadership, Israel has become a pariah state, and this is a low point in our history as a people and a nation”.
The ICC has no power to enforce its warrants but any country that has signed the Rome Statute, which established the court’s existence, would be obliged to arrest Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant.
Mr Khan said in a statement: “I appeal to all States Parties to live up to their commitment to the Rome Statute by respecting and complying with these judicial orders.”
He also called on countries that are not members of the ICC to work together towards “upholding international law”.
The Telegraph
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