Netanyahu attacks ICC war crimes arrest warrants

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned arsenic "antisemitic" a determination by the International Criminal Court to contented apprehension warrants for warfare crimes against him and ex-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

He said the ICC was "falsely" accusing them "of deliberately targeting civilians, this erstwhile we bash everything successful our powerfulness to debar civilian casualties".

The ICC besides issued a warrant for Hamas commandant Mohammed Deif. Israel says helium was killed successful Gaza successful July.

ICC judges said determination were “reasonable grounds” to judge the 3 men bore "criminal responsibility" for crimes during the warfare betwixt Israel and Hamas.

US President Joe Biden called the ICC determination against Israeli officials "outrageous".

"Whatever the ICC mightiness imply, determination is nary equivalence - nary - betwixt Israel and Hamas," Biden said successful a statement. "We volition ever basal with Israel against threats to its security."

Both Israel and Hamas cull the allegations made by the ICC.

In a connection connected Thursday, Netanyahu said: "The antisemitic determination of the planetary tribunal successful The Hague is simply a modern Dreyfus trial, and it volition extremity the aforesaid way."

He was referring to a high-profile lawsuit of antisemitism successful France conscionable implicit a period ago.

"The tribunal successful The Hague accuses america of a deliberate argumentation of starvation," the Israeli PM said.

"This erstwhile we person supplied Gaza with 700,000 tons of nutrient to provender the radical of Gaza. We contented millions of substance messages, telephone calls, leaflets to the citizens of Gaza to get them retired of harm's mode - portion the Hamas terrorists bash everything successful their powerfulness to support them successful harm’s way, including shooting them, utilizing them arsenic quality shields."

Netanyahu said Israel would "not recognise the validity" of the ICC's decision.

Just this week, the UN warned that Palestinians were "facing diminishing conditions for survival" successful parts of bluish Gaza nether siege by Israeli forces due to the fact that virtually nary assistance had been delivered successful 40 days.

Gallant said the ICC placed "the authorities of Israel and the murderous leaders of Hamas successful the aforesaid enactment and frankincense legitimises the execution of babies, the rape of women and the abduction of the aged from their beds”.

Ehud Olmert, a erstwhile Israeli premier minister, told the BBC that portion helium was captious of Netanyahu's handling of the struggle with Hamas, helium did not hold with the ICC's decision.

"Israel has not committed genocide oregon warfare crimes that merit these charges against the premier curate and the curate of defence," Olmert told Radio 4's World Tonight programme.

Hamas made nary notation of the Deif warrant but said the determination against Netanyahu and Gallant constituted an "important humanities precedent, and a correction to a agelong way of humanities injustice against our people".

Palestinians successful Gaza expressed anticipation Israeli leaders would present beryllium brought to justice.

Israel denies the allegation that its forces are committing genocide successful Gaza, which is the taxable of a abstracted lawsuit earlier the International Court of Justice.

The interaction of the warrants announced by the ICC volition beryllium connected whether the court's 124 subordinate states - which bash not see Israel oregon its ally, the US - determine to enforce them oregon not.

Several European countries person said they respect ICC decisions. Downing Street said the British authorities respected the independency of the ICC.

The prosecutor's lawsuit against the 3 men stems from 7 October 2023, erstwhile Hamas gunmen attacked Israel, sidesplitting astir 1,200 radical and taking 251 others backmost to Gaza arsenic hostages.

Israel responded by launching a subject run to destruct Hamas, during which astatine slightest 44,000 radical person been killed successful Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run wellness ministry.

For Deif, an ICC pre-trial enclosure recovered tenable grounds to judge helium was "responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and different signifier of intersexual violence; arsenic good arsenic the warfare crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture; taking hostages; outrages upon idiosyncratic dignity; and rape and different signifier of intersexual violence".

It besides said determination were tenable grounds to judge the crimes against humanity were "part of a wide and systematic onslaught directed by Hamas and different equipped groups against the civilian colonisation of Israel".

For Netanyahu and Gallant, who was replaced arsenic defence curate earlier this month, the enclosure recovered tenable grounds to judge that they "each carnivore transgression work for the pursuing crimes arsenic co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the warfare transgression of starvation arsenic a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and different inhumane acts".

It besides recovered tenable grounds to judge that "each carnivore transgression work arsenic civilian superiors for the warfare transgression of intentionally directing an onslaught against the civilian population".