Netanyahu Opens Voice Immediately Officially Arrested by ICC, This Warning
- Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s move to apply for an arrest warrant against him, Monday. He rejected the plan to arrest him in disgust.
According to him, the ICC had taken careless steps. Moreover, he said, the ICC had equated himself with the Israeli military (IDF) and Hamas, which he called a monster.
"I disgustedly reject the comparison by the prosecutor in The Hague between democratic Israel and the mass murderer Hamas," Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to the Dutch city where the court is headquartered, quoted from AFP, Tuesday (21/5/2024).
"With what courage do you dare to compare the Hamas 'monster' with the IDF (Israeli army), the most moral army in the world?," he explained.
"This is like creating moral equality after September 11 between President (George W) Bush and Osama bin Laden, or during World War II between FDR (Franklin D Roosevelt) and Hitler," he added.
Netanyahu alleged that there was a connection between the ICC's planned arrest of him and weeks of protests on United States (US) campuses regarding Israel's war in Gaza. He said this action was a new form of anti-Semitic attitude.
"This is what the new form of anti-Semitism looks like, it has moved from campuses in the West to courts in The Hague," he pointed out.
"He (Prosecutor Khan) cruelly poured fuel on the fire of antisemitism. Through this inflammatory decision, Khan took his place among the greatest anti-Semitists of modern times," Netanyahu claimed.
Furthermore, Netanyahu also promised to continue his war in Gaza. Although, international pressure on him was getting stronger to stop the war.
"I promise that no pressure or decision in any international forum will prevent us from attacking those who seek to destroy us," he said.
Previously, the ICC officially submitted an arrest warrant against Netanyahu on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutor Karim Khan said that not only Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant would also be on the wanted list.
Both of them committed actions that caused "starvation". They also committed deliberate murder,” and “extermination.”
"The crime against humanity charged is extermination and/or murder, including in the context of death due to starvation, persecution and other inhumane acts," he said in an announcement published on the same page.
"The alleged crimes against humanity were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack on the Palestinian civilian population based on State policy," he added.
"This crime, in our assessment, continues to this day," he stressed.
It said that evidence gathered showed that Israel "has deliberately and systematically deprived the civilian population of the entire Gaza region of objects essential for human survival". It said there was a "total siege of Gaza" along with "other attacks on civilians" including "those queuing for food", "obstruction of aid deliveries", and "attacks on and killings of aid workers".
"These actions were carried out as part of a joint plan to use starvation as a method of war, the impacts of which were acute, visible and widely known," he said again.
"Israel, like all other states, has the right to take action to defend its population... But this right does not absolve Israel or any state from its obligations to comply with international humanitarian law, the statement added," the ICC prosecutor explained again.
"Regardless of whatever military goals they have, the means Israel has chosen to achieve them in Gaza... are criminal," he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticized Netanyahu's arrest warrant attempt. He said this was a historical disgrace.
According to him, Israel will form a special committee to fight this. The government also initiated diplomatic efforts to oppose it.
"This is a dark day for the ICC," added the Israeli Foreign Ministry statement.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also reacted. He said the appeal showed that "the international justice system is in danger of breaking down".
It should be noted that the war in Gaza broke out after the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people. The Palestinian militants also took 252 people hostage during the attack, 124 of whom are still being held in Gaza including 37 people the army said were killed.
Hamas said the reason for the attack was Israel's occupation of the region. This is also retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in early 2023 and the expulsion of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territory.
Israel then responded to Hamas by launching a retaliatory attack on Gaza. At least 35,562 people in Gaza were killed, most of them civilians, with a number of countries viewing Israel as having committed genocide.