The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant on charges of war and crimes against humanity.
The ICC charged Netanyahu and Gallant with crimes against humanity, including murder, torture and inhumane acts. There are accusations that Israel has restricted essential supplies such as food, water and medical assistance to civilians in Gaza, leading to the deaths of children and distress to many people.
According to the information, the indictment says that the court also found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu deliberately attacked civilians and withheld necessary aid. So people had to suffer a lot.
The court said: “We assess that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Galant are responsible for the war crime of deliberately directing attacks against the civilian population of Gaza.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog responded
Israeli President Isaac Herzog reacted to the arrest warrant, calling the day a dark day for justice. He said: ‘The ICC decision has made justice a laughingstock. It mocks the sacrifices of all those who fight for justice. He said he ignores the plight of 101 Israeli hostages held in brutal captivity by Hamas in Gaza. This ignores Hamas’s reprehensible use of its own people as human shields. This ignores the basic fact that Israel was brutally attacked and that it is its duty and right to defend its people.
What did Benjamin Netanyahu say?
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office condemned the ICC’s decision. He said: ‘The anti-Semitic decision of the International Criminal Court is worrying. Israel completely rejects the false and absurd accusations of a biased and discriminatory political institution.
Also read: There will be no agreement with Israel until the war in Gaza ends: Hamas
Hamas refused to negotiate
Separately, the acting head of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, said in a statement on Wednesday that until the war in the Palestinian territories ends, there will be no prisoner exchange with Israel – there will be no exchange agreement. “Without the end of the war there can be no exchange of prisoners,” Hayya said in an interview with the Al-Aqsa television channel.
Efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza have stalled, with the United States on Wednesday vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an unconditional permanent ceasefire. Washington’s ambassador to the UN said the United States would only support a resolution that paves the way for the immediate release of Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire.
