Netanyahu condemns attempts to arrest him over Gaza war

(Patria) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu angrily condemned the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for seeking arrest warrants against him along with Hamas leaders for war crimes in the Gaza conflict, the BBC reported. Netanyahu said he rejected with disgust the comparison of "democratic Israel" with what he called "mass murderers".

His comments were echoed by US President Joe Biden, who said there was no equivalence between Israel and Hamas. ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and his defense minister Yoav Gallant bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The ICC is also seeking an arrest warrant for Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, for war crimes.

Israel and the US, its key ally, are not members of the ICC, which was established in 2002.
Khan has applied for arrest warrants for Gallant and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, along with the group's military chief Mohammed Deif. He said the Israeli prime minister and defense minister are suspected of crimes including starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, murder, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, and extermination.

Netanyahu condemned the request for his arrest as an "absurd and false order." In a statement in Hebrew, he asked "with what audacity" the ICC would "dare to compare" Hamas and Israel. He called the comparison a "distortion of reality" and accused the prosecutor of "brazenly pouring gasoline on the fire of antisemitism raging around the world".

Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Khan's move an "unlimited frontal attack" on the victims of the October 7 attack and a "historical shame that will be remembered forever".

Hamas had previously made its own request for "the cancellation of all arrest warrants issued against the leaders of the Palestinian resistance".

"Hamas strongly condemns the attempts by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to equate the victim with the executioner," the group stated, lamenting that the request for warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant came "seven months late," and that other Israeli political and military leaders were not on the same warrant.