INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan KC announced that they have applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders.
Khan stated that there are “reasonable grounds” to hold these leaders responsible for war crimes against humanity committed on October 7th, 2023.
The Hamas leaders also sought for arrest include Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, as well as Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed al-Masri.
Khan emphasized that both sides are responsible for the events, citing the attacks on Israel by Hamas and the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel in the State of Palestine in the Gaza Strip.
“My office submits that these individuals through a common plan, have systemmatically deprived the civilian population of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival,” Karim Khan International Criminal Court Prosecutor said.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu did not appreciate this and insisted that their actions against Hamas are a ‘just war.’
“The outrageous decision by the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to seek arrest warrants against the democratically elected leaders of Israel is a moral outrage of historic proportion. It will cast an everlasting mark of shame on the international court. Israel is waging a just war against Hamas,” Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel said.
‘’The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel and Mr. Khan’s actions will not stop us from waging our just war against Hamas. But Mr Khan’s abuse of authority will turn the ICC into nothing more than a farce,’’ Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu added that Khan’s moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas is twisted and wrong, calling it an affront to justice.
‘’Mr. Khan, creates a twisted and false moral equivalence between the leaders of Israel and the henchmen of Hamas. This is like creating a moral equivalence after September 11th between President Bush and Osama Bin Laden, or during World War II, between FDR and Hitler. What a travesty of justice! What a disgrace!’’ Netanyahu added.
The Israeli Prime Minister assured that their war would continue in accordance with international law.
‘’Israel will continue to wage this war in full compliance with international law. We will continue to take unprecedented measure to get innocent civilians out of harm’s way and to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those in need in Gaza,’’ he said.
US President Biden issued a statement against the ICC, calling this step outrageous.
Meanwhile, the Israeli offensive has claimed the lives of over 35,000 Palestinians.
The war between Israel and Hamas has been ongoing for seven months since the attack on October 7.
