Reactions to the ICC Prosecutor's Request for Arrest Warrants Against Israeli and Hamas Leaders

Israeli leaders condemned the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's intention to issue arrest warrants against the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Israel, alongside potential similar warrants for the leaders of the extremist group Hamas. The extremist group Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, also condemned the ICC's decision. The ICC's chief prosecutor announced on Monday, May 21, in an interview with CNN that he is seeking to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and Hamas leaders on charges of 'war crimes' and 'crimes against humanity.' Karim Khan, the British judge of the ICC, cited Hamas's attack on Israeli territory and the subsequent war of the Israeli army against Hamas in the Gaza Strip as the basis for this request. He stated that he is seeking international arrest warrants against Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, Muhammad Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (known as Muhammad Deif), the internal and external leaders of Hamas, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, and Yoav Gallant, the Minister of Defense of Israel. In response, Benjamin Netanyahu stated at a meeting of the ruling Likud party in Jerusalem that this 'scandal' of the ICC 'will not stop me or us.' Isaac Herzog, the President of Israel, conveyed that this 'unilateral' decision 'is beyond a scandal that will strengthen terrorists worldwide.' According to Herzog, the ICC has equated 'monstrous terrorists and elected officials of a democratic country,' and the world should not accept this 'violation of justice laws.' Reactions from Netanyahu and Gallant's political allies included Israel Katz, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who called Karim Khan's decision 'a scandal' and an 'unbridled' attack. Katz stated that while Hamas killers committed crimes against humanity against our people, the ICC prosecutor equated the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Israel with 'the infamous Nazi monsters of Hamas.' According to the Foreign Minister of Israel, 'this historical disgrace' 'will be remembered forever.' Reportedly, the Foreign Ministry, at Katz's instruction, has established an operations room to counter the ICC prosecutor's decision and has called on Israeli embassies worldwide to clarify their positions to the governments in which they serve. Israel is reportedly counting on U.S. actions to garner support against the ICC. Yariv Levin, the Israeli Minister of Justice, condemned Karim Khan's decision, stating that the ICC is committing 'one of the greatest moral shames in contemporary history.' He added that the ICC's decision aims to 'strip Israel of its right to self-defense' and that 'the comparison between Israeli leaders and Hamas killers is disgusting and a clear expression of modern anti-Semitism.' Levin emphasized that Israeli citizens and 'many people around the world' support the Prime Minister, leadership, and army of Israel. Bezalel Smotrich, the Minister of Finance and an ally of Benjamin Netanyahu in the ruling coalition, stated that since the Nazi regime, we have not faced such a display of hypocrisy and hatred towards Jews as the event reported today. The Israeli opposition condemned the ICC. Leaders of the Israeli opposition, despite deep political differences with Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government, emphasized that they will not tolerate the ICC prosecutor's decision. Naftali Bennett, a former Prime Minister of Israel, condemned the ICC and called on countries around the world to withdraw funding for the court. According to Bennett, the prosecutor's request is 'a moment of shame for the ICC and the international community' that aids 'global jihadist terrorism.' Bennett stated, 'A court that compares the perpetrators of massacres and the rape of our women and the burning of Israeli infants with those who defend their people against these massacres is better off not existing.' Yair Lapid, another former Prime Minister and the main opposition leader, called Karim Khan's decision 'a political and moral disaster' and an 'unforgivable' act. Lapid described this event as 'a horrific failure' for Benjamin Netanyahu, stating that 'as a result of this worst political failure, Israel is now at war with the entire world.' Benny Gantz, the senior war cabinet minister who warned Netanyahu on Saturday night to change his strategy in six war-related areas within three weeks, sent a message to the ICC that 'if it accepts the prosecutor's position, it will stain itself with an indelible historical crime.' On the other hand, the extremist group Hamas, which initiated the war between the Israeli army and this group in Gaza with its surprise attack on Israeli territory on October 7 last year, announced that 'the ICC prosecutor's decision compares the victim with the executioner.' Hamas is a group that has pursued the destruction of Israel as its charter since its establishment about four decades ago. Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas's political wing, spoke to Reuters from his hideout, stating that the ICC's decision 'encourages Israel to continue its crimes.' Key Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, such as Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif, have been hiding in Gaza's tunnels during the ongoing 227 days of war. The British government, Israel's first ally in the Western world, was the first to take a position against the ICC prosecutor's potential decision. A government spokesperson told the Telegraph that such a decision would not help in the release of Israeli hostages from Hamas, the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, or efforts to achieve a ceasefire. The spokesperson added that Britain had previously stated that the ICC lacks jurisdiction to address such matters, as Britain does not recognize Palestine as a country and Israel is not a party to the 'Rome Statute.'