Israel on Monday termed International Criminal Court's decision to seek arrest warrants against Israeli leaders as “a historic disgrace that will be remembered forever”.
Israel's foreign minister Israel Katz has said the chief prosecutor of the he would form a special committee to fight back against any such action and would work with world leaders to ensure that any such warrants are not enforced.
Earlier, the chief prosecutor of the ICC Karim Khan had said he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas.
Khan had reportedly said that he believes Netanyahu, his defense minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders — Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Khan, as per AP report, said in a statement that “the effects of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, together with other attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza are acute, visible and widely known. ... They include malnutrition, dehydration, profound suffering and an increasing number of deaths among the Palestinian population, including babies, other children, and women.”
Israel is not a member of the court, and even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. .
Meanwhile, the Hamas has also denounced the ICC prosecutor’s request to seek the arrests of its leaders.
In a statement, Hamas accused the prosecutor of trying to “equate the victim with the executioner.” It said it has the right to resist Israeli occupation, including “armed resistance.”
It also criticized the court for seeking the arrests of only two Israeli leaders and said it should seek warrants for other Israeli leaders.
Israel launched its war in response to an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas that reportedly killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage. The Israeli response reportedly has killed over 35,000 Palestinians, at least half of them women and children.
