Netanyahu to the International Criminal Court: Its decision "adds fuel to the flame of antisemitism in the world"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted in a powerful video to the requests made by the attorney general of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu, the Israeli Defense Minister, and at the same time, he called for the leaders of the Hamas terrorist group to be arrested.

"The appalling decision by International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan to seek arrest warrants against Israel's democratically elected leaders is a moral scandal of historic proportions," the prime minister said.

"[The decision] will leave an eternal mark of shame on the International Court," he added.

Benjamin Netanyahu is accused of violating human rights, voluntarily starving the population and impeding humanitarian aid in the framework of the Israeli military incursion into Gaza, with the goal of completely neutralizing the terrorist group Hamas, which on October 7 committed the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

"Israel is waging a just war against a terrorist, genocidal group," said the prime minister, who recalled that Hamas massacred hundreds of women, the elderly and babies, as well as kidnapped hundreds of people whom it has subjected to inhumane treatment.

For Netanyahu, the fact that he and Minister Yoav Galant have been accused along with Hamas leaders such as the recognized terrorist Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, the political head of the organization, is absurd since it morally resembles the democratic leaders of a country with terrorists.

"Mr. Khan creates a twisted and false moral equivalence between Israel's leaders and Hamas' henchmen. This is as if after 9/11, we created a moral equivalence between President Bush and Osama Bin Laden. Or, during World War II, between Roosevelt and Hitler," Netanyahu said.

Today, Israel represents the only democratic state in the entire Middle East, and the leaders whom the ICC accuses were democratically elected by a majority. For Netanyahu, a democracy like Israel has the right to defend itself from the aggression of its neighbors and prosecutor Khan intends to deny that right.

While defending himself, Netanyahu took a firm stance against the prosecutor, whom he challenged: "These efforts are going to fail." The prime minister recalled that "80 years ago, the Jews were unprotected," but today, they have a state and an army that protects them.

"Israel will continue this war in accordance with international law. We will continue to take unprecedented measures to protect civilians, keep them out of the conflict, and allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need in Gaza."

For Netanyahu, Karim Khan "is not going to stop us from continuing," and "by abusing his authority, he is turning the International Criminal Court into a farce."

Finally, the prime minister referred to the thousands of cases of antisemitism that are occurring today in different countries. According to the Israeli leader, what Khan's decision does is "add gasoline to the flame of antisemitism, which today burns throughout the world."

https://x.com/netanyahu/status/1792623424893784221

"Mr. Khan takes his place among the greatest antisemites of modern times," he said.

"To all the enemies of Israel and its collaborators in The Hague: Israel will continue its war against Hamas until we have won," Benjamin Netanyahu concluded in his video.

Strong response from Israel

This issue with Israel is not about Netanyahu against the Palestinians, and the proof of this is that the entire Government, including the opposition, united in condemning the decision of the International Criminal Court.

"The arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court are a complete moral failure. We cannot accept an atrocious comparison between Netanyahu and Sinwar, between the leaders of Israel and the leaders of Hamas," said Yair Lapid, one of the current prime minister's most prominent opponents.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, also an adversary of Netanyahu, expressed his solidarity with the head of state and said on his X account that the accusations represent "a moment of shame for the International Criminal Court and the world community."

"It also provides a giant boost to global jihadist terror," he added.

According to Bennett, it would be better that the ICC did not exist if it is an institution that "compares carrying out murderous attacks, including raping women and burning babies, with those defending themselves."

Finally, Bennett called for "decent nations to defund the International Criminal Court."