Nov. 22 (UPI) — U.S. President Joe Biden has denounced the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister,Yoav Gallant, while several other world leaders have stated they will abide by the order.
The ICC on Thursday issued war crimes arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and the slain Hamas commander Mohammed Deif in connection with the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel.
The court accused the Israeli leaders of directing military attacks against civilians in Gaza, using starvation as a weapon of war and committing crimes against humanity. Deif, also known as Mohammed Dia Ibrahim al-Masri, was accused of committing war crimes in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which killed 1,200 Israelis and ignited the current war.
The Israeli military announced it early August that it had been Deif “eliminated.”
Without a police force, the ICC relies member states to make arrests.
Biden, who has been a staunch supporter of Israel’s right to self-defense defense, lambasted the court Thursday night, accusing it placing equal responsibility for the war on Israel and Iran-backed Hamas, which the United States and other countries have designated a terrorist organization.
“The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas,” he said in a statement.
“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
Netanyahu also condemned the ICC in a video statement, calling court’s decision to issue arrest warrants from him and Gallant “anti-Semitic.”
“The truth is simple: No war is more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza after Hamas attacked us unprovoked, launching the worst massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” he said.
He also denounced the court for failing to act against Hamas operatives accused of committing war atrocities, such as rape and infanticide, while the Iran-proxy militia continues to hold 101 of the 251 Israelis it kidnapped at the start of the war.
“No biased anti-Israel decision in The Hague will prevent the State of Israel from defending its citizens,” he said, as he vowed that the country will continue its war against Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies.
“Israel does not, Israel will not recognize the validity of this decision.”
Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Israel has been waging war against the militia as well as other Iranian proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis of Yemen.
Although Israel initially had broad support from the international community following the Hamas strike, the growing Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza and Israel’s methods of fighting the war have drawn increasing criticism.
According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, more than 44,000 people, many women and children, have been killed in the war. The health ministry in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah, reported nearly 3,600 deaths, most occurring since late September.
Reactions to the ICC announcement have been mixed. While some democracies responding coolly, others championed it as a meaningful step toward justice.
European Union policy chief Josep Borrell issued a brief statement on X simply stating he acknowledged it and that all decisions from the court are binding by all members, including EU states.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that Canada will “abide by all regulations and rulings of the international courts.”
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, on the other hand, said the arrest warrants were “an extremely significant stop.”
“Ireland respects the role of the International Criminal Court. Anyone in a position to assist it in carrying out its vital work must now do so with urgency,” he said in a statement.
According to its website, Netanyahu and Gallant are among 55 defendants that the ICC has issued arrest warrants for.
