Netanyahu decries ICC prosecutor's arrest warrant push as 'travesty of justice'
Prime minister accuses prosecutors of creating false equivalency between Israel, Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the International Criminal Court’s decision to pursue arrest warrants against him and his defense minister are the latest examples of "what the new antisemitism looks like."
Netanyahu is speaking out for the first time Monday after ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said his office has "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders committed "war crimes and crimes against humanity" during the war in Gaza.
"As the prime minister of Israel, I reject with disgust the Hague prosecutor's comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas," Netanyahu said in a video message translated from Hebrew. "This is a complete distortion of reality. This is exactly what the new antisemitism looks like. It has moved from the campuses in the West to the court in The Hague."
Netanyahu continued by saying the "absurd and false warrant of the prosecutor in The Hague is not only directed against the Prime Minister of Israel and the Minister of Defense – it is directed against the entire State of Israel."
BIDEN SLAMS ICC’S ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ REQUEST FOR NETANYAHU ARREST WARRANT
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks out against the ICC's announcement to pursue an arrest warrant against him over alleged war crimes in Gaza. (Government Press Office)
"It is directed against the IDF soldiers, who are fighting with extraordinary heroism against the vile Hamas murderers who attacked us with terrible cruelty on Oct. 7," Netanyahu said.
He concluded by reiterating his vow to "overthrow the evil rule of Hamas and achieve complete victory."
In an English-language statement released later, Netanyahu added, "What a travesty of justice! What a disgrace!"
ICC REQUESTS ARREST WARRANTS FOR NETANYAHU, HAMAS LEADERS OVER ‘WAR CRIMES’
Prime Minister Netanyahu, left, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a press conference at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on Oct. 28, 2023. (Abir Sultan/AFP/Getty Images)
In his announcement earlier this morning, the ICC’s Khan said alleged crimes that Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for include "starvation of civilians as a method of warfare" and "intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population."
"My Office submits that the evidence we have collected, including interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses, authenticated video, photo and audio material, satellite imagery and statements from the alleged perpetrator group, shows that Israel has intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival," Khan added.
Hamas leaders, from left, Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Khalil al-Hayya arrive at the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip in September 2017. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)
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"Israel, like all States, has a right to take action to defend its population," he also said. "That right, however, does not absolve Israel or any State of its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law."
Fox News' Yonat Friling contributed to this report.