Netanyahu blasts international court for seeking his arrest

Update, 3:55 p.m.: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday afternoon slammed the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants against himself, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Characterizing it as a black day in the history of nations, Netanyahu said the court was created to protect humanity, but instead had become mankind’s enemy. Israel has been falsely accused of genocide and causing deliberate harm to civilians, but it’s the terrorist group Hamas that is doing those things, he said.

Original story:

A panel of judges on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Israel has been engaging in a retaliatory war against Hamas terrorists for more than a year and the court claims Netanyahu and Gallant intentionally directed attacks against civilians. A prosecutor of the international court in May submitted applications for warrants for leaders on both sides of the war. Israel in September filed legal briefs challenging the court’s jurisdiction and arguing the court did not give Israel an opportunity to investigate the allegations before requesting the warrants. The court on Thursday rejected the challenges.

The court also issued arrest warrants for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif on allegations of crimes against humanity. Israeli forces in July claimed to have killed Deif in an airstrike.

How have Israeli leaders responded? Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the court’s decision did not take into account Hamas’ history of embedding terrorists among civilians. The court also ignored Israel’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza, Herzog said. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called the court anti-Semitic and Israeli opposition leader Yair Labid said the decision is a reward for terrorism.

What are the implications of these warrants? Netanyahu and Gallant could be arrested in any of the more than 120 countries that are members of the International Criminal Court. Israel and the United States do not recognize the court’s authority, while Israel’s neighbor Jordan does.

Russia also does not recognize the court, which issued a warrant for the arrest of leader Vladimir Putin last year.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about how Pope Francis is calling for an investigation into the conflict in Gaza.