Netanyahu says ICC arrest application won't change Gaza war conduct
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The occupation's prime minister describes the ICC's chief prosecutor as one of the "great anti-Semites in modern times."
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement at the Israeli Knesset in occupied al-Quds in December 2022. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described on Monday the measures of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants against him and Security Minister Yoav Gallant as "anti-semitic," and confirmed that they will not constrain "Israel" in its war on Gaza.
The Chief Prosecutor of the ICC Karim Khan stated that his office is filing applications for arrest warrants before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC against Netanyahu and Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the "territory of the State of Palestine," in the Gaza Strip, from at least October 8, 2023. This was the first action of its kind taken against any major US partner in addition to any self-proclaimed "democracy".
Read more: Possible ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu: US hypocrisy, explained
Khan also revealed applications for arrest warrants against three officials of the Palestinian Resistance: Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Mohammad Deif, for their role in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
He said that both top Israeli officials bear criminal responsibility for a list of "war crimes and crimes against humanity," including "extermination and/or murder, starving civilians, willfull killing, willfully causing great suffering, or serious injury," and deliberate direct attacks against a civilian population.
The top prosecutor stressed that the evidence his office gathered included interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses, authenticated video, photo and audio material, satellite imagery, and statements from "the alleged perpetrator group," which show that "Israel has intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival."
Read more: Day 227 in Gaza: 35,562 killed, 79,652 injured by 'Israel'
In video statement following Khan's announcement, the prime minister considered the ICC's warrants as being directed against all of "Israel," describing issuing warrants for both Israeli officials and Palestinian Resistance figures as "an utter distortion of reality".
He further labeled Khan one of the "great antisemites in modern times," saying his decision was "callously pouring gasoline on the fires of antisemitism that are raging around the world."
'Not a genocide'
Khan had previously received a threat from 12 Republican senators, who said he could be hit with "severe sanctions" if he issued international arrest warrants for Israeli officials.
In a report earlier this month, Axios revealed that House Republicans are drafting a bill aimed at imposing sanctions on ICC officials as a "precaution" in response to any arrest warrants against Israeli officials over war crimes in Gaza.
President Joe Biden voiced his condemnation on Monday of the court's measure, describing the warrants as "outrageous".
"Let me be clear, we reject the ICC’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders," Biden said at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House on Monday.
"Contrary to allegations against Israel made by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), what’s happening in Gaza is not genocide. We reject that," Biden said in his speech.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Biden's stance, saying the United States "fundamentally rejects" the move.
Rea more: Congress threatens US retaliation if ICC issues Israeli arrests: Axios
