ICC issues warrant for Netanyahu's arrest over alleged war crimes

Guardian:

Netanyahu says ICC warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes is ‘antisemitic’ and ‘absurd’ – Middle East live

International criminal court issues arrest warrants for Israeli PM, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant in October. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters

Martin Belam

Fri 22 Nov 2024 01.15 AEDT


Netanyahu's office: ICC ruling is 'absurd and false lies' and 'antisemitic'

In his first response to the ICC issuing a warrant for his arrest on allegations of war crimes, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has described the ruling as “absurd and false lies” and said the decision is “antisemitic.”

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office say they categorically reject the claims levelled against Israel’s prime minister. Former defense minister Yoav Gallant has also been issued with an arrest warrant.

Netanyahu’s office said the country will “not yield to pressure, will not be deterred, and will not retreat” until, it said, all of Israel’s war aims are achieved.

The three-judge panel wrote in its unanimous decision to issue the warrants: “The chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”

In October 2023, two days after the surprise attack by Hamas inside southern Israel which killed about 1,200 people and led to about 250 people being seized and abducted as hostages, Gallant said “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”

About 100 people are still believed held hostage by Hamas and other groups in Gaza, at least some of which are known to have been killed. Hamas-led authorities in Gaza have put the death toll from Israel’s 13-month long military campaign at over 40,000, although it has not been possible for journalists to verify the casualty figures.Share


4m ago01.15 AEDT

Democratic party US senator John Fetterman has given perhaps the most concise political reaction to the decision of the international criminal court in The Hague to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s former defense minister Yoav Gallant – alongside Hamas leader Mohammed Deif – for alleged war crimes relating to the Gaza war.

In a post to social media, coupled with a screenshot of a BBC News headline about the arrest warrants, Fetterman wrote “No standing, relevance, or path. Fuck that,” adding an emoji of the Israeli flag.Share

8m ago01.11 AEDT

One thing that is likely to provoke additional reaction among pro-Israeli politicians in the US is that the court announcement today specifically at one point mentions Israel responding to pressure from across the Atlantic.

In one passage, it says:

The Chamber also noted that decisions allowing or increasing humanitarian assistance into Gaza were often conditional. They were not made to fulfil Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law or to ensure that the civilian population in Gaza would be adequately supplied with goods in need. In fact, they were a response to the pressure of the international community or requests by the United States of America. In any event, the increases in humanitarian assistance were not sufficient to improve the population’s access to essential goods.

It goes on to say that Israel ignored pleas from “the UN security council, UN secretary general, states, and governmental and civil society organisations about the humanitarian situation in Gaza”, and says that “only minimal humanitarian assistance was authorised.”

As a result of this, and “Mr Netanyahu’s statement connecting the halt in the essential goods and humanitarian aid with the goals of war,” it said “The Chamber therefore found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant bear criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.”Share

15m ago01.04 AEDT
Defense minister Katz: ICC decision is 'moral disgrace entirely tainted by antisemitism'

Israel Katz, who recently replaced Yoav Gallant as defense minister, has described the decision to issue his predecessor with an arrest warrant alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif as “a moral disgrace, entirely tainted by antisemitism.”

Katz, who took up the defense post after Netanyahu sacked Gallant, triggering protests across Israel, said in a social media post:

The decision … is a moral disgrace, entirely tainted by antisemitism, and drags the international judicial system to an unprecedented low. This shameful decision serves Iran, the head of the snake, and its proxies.

The ICC has chosen to lend support to a biased and corrupt prosecutor rather than confront those who openly seek the destruction of the State of Israel.

We will not allow a hostile, hypocritical, and illegitimate body to harm our leaders or our soldiers. We will continue to defend the citizens of Israel with determination and pride, standing firm against anyone who attempts to undermine our right to self-defense.

Anyone who thinks they can deter us from achieving all our war objectives through absurd decisions that serve Iran and its proxies will face a strong and resolute state, acting with power in every arena—military, political, and legal—to counter every threat.

Katz added that he stands firmly with Netanyahu and Gallant.Share

17m ago00.59 AEDT

US Republican representative Mike Waltz, who is president-elect Donald Trump’s pick for national security advisor in the incoming US administration, has said “You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC and UN come January,” when Trump takes office.

In a post on social media Waltz said “The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the US government. Israel has lawfully defended its people and borders from genocidal terrorists.”

Reuters reported Waltz would be Trump’s pick for the role earlier this month. The national security adviser does not require Senate confirmation, and is responsible for briefing the president on key national security issues and coordinating with different agencies.

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kt comments:

Israeli scumbags are shameless to hide behind the overused 'sarong' of 'anti-Semitisms'. In reality the Israeli invader-scumbags have been the real 'anti-Semites' (if we remember Arabs are also Semites) in the disgusting brutal horrendous ill-treatment of the Arab natives of Palestine.