Israel Decries "Historic Disgrace" as ICC Seeks Arrest Warrants

Monday 20 May 2024 - 15:20

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to request arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, labeling it a "historic disgrace" for the Hague-based court.

In a strongly worded statement, Foreign Minister Israel Katz denounced the move to seek warrants against "the Prime Minister and Defense Minister of the State of Israel alongside the abominable Nazi monsters of Hamas" as a "frontal attack" and a "historic disgrace that will forever be etched in memory."

Katz criticized the ICC's action, asserting that it equates Israeli officials with "the assassins and rapists of Hamas" who "are committing crimes against humanity against our brothers and sisters." He vowed that Israel would "fight against this decision, which primarily aims to tie the hands of the State of Israel and deny it the right to self-defense."

The minister's remarks come as Israel finds itself embroiled in a 227-day conflict with Hamas, initiated by a deadly attack by the Palestinian Islamic movement that infiltrated from the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of over 1,170 individuals, predominantly civilians, according to AFP data based on official Israeli figures. Of the 252 individuals taken hostage at the time, 124 remain in captivity in Gaza, including 37 reported fatalities by the Israeli military.

Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas, the ruling authority in Gaza since 2007, which it considers a terrorist organization, along with the United States and the European Union. Since the onset of the conflict, more than 35,450 Palestinians, primarily civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip, devastated by Israeli bombardments and ground offensives, according to data from the Ministry of Health of the Hamas-led government in Gaza.

On Monday, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he had requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged crimes such as "intentionally depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival," "willful killing," and "extermination and/or murder." The charges against Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, the head of the Palestinian Islamic movement in Gaza, include "extermination," "rape and other forms of sexual violence," and "hostage-taking as a war crime."

Katz reiterated Israel's determination, stating, "No force in the world will prevent us from recovering all the abducted individuals" or "toppling the regime of terror of Hamas."