Key points
- The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Arrest warrants have also been issued for former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas official Ibrahim al-Masri.
- The arrest warrants were issued by the ICC in connection with alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has responded after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defense chief Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri.
The move comes after ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced in May that he was seeking arrest warrants for alleged crimes linked to the ICC of Hamas last year and the Israeli military response in the Gaza Strip.
Wong told X on Friday that Australia “respects the independence of the ICC and its important role in upholding international law.”
She said the federal government had been “clear that all parties to the conflict must comply with international humanitarian law”.
“Citizens must be protected. Hostages must be released. Rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian aid must reach civilians. First responders must be protected to enable their lifesaving work,” Wong wrote.
Wong's response differed from that of the United States. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden's administration had “fundamentally” rejected the court's decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials.
“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor's haste to issue arrest warrants and the troubling procedural errors that led to this decision,” Jean-Pierre said, without providing further details on the procedural errors allegation.
It came as Biden issued a statement calling the ICC's arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant “outrageous.”
“Let me be clear again: whatever the ICC may imply, there is no equality – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always support Israel when it comes to threats to its security.”
The ICC said Israel's acceptance of the court's jurisdiction was not required. However, Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
Benjamin Netanyahu rejects ICC arrest warrants
“Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions that the ICC has taken against the country,” Netanyahu's office said in a statement in response to the order, adding that the prime minister will not “succumb to pressure” in defense of the Israeli citizens.
The International Criminal Court has announced its decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and a senior Hamas official. Source: SIPA VS / ANP
The ICC has “lost all legitimacy” after issuing the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.
“A dark moment for the International Criminal Court,” Saar said of X, adding that it had issued “absurd orders without authorization.”
The ICC said there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for the use of famine as a method of war and for crimes against humanity.
These included “murder, persecution and other inhumane acts” against Palestinians after Israel launched its attack on the enclave following Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel.
Arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas commander Ibrahim al-Masri, commonly known as Mohammed Deif, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip conflict.
The arrest warrant for Deif lists allegations of mass killings during the October 7 attacks on Israel that led to an escalation of the war in Gaza, as well as allegations of rape and hostage-taking.
but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.
The prosecutor's office indicated it would continue to gather information related to his reported death.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants against him and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Source: AP / Ohad Zwigenberg
Hamas welcomed the arrest warrants against Gallant and Netanyahu and urged the court to extend accountability to all Israeli leaders.
There was no immediate comment on the arrest warrant for Gallant, who was after Netanyahu said he had lost confidence in him over the management of ongoing military operations in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Israeli officials criticize the ICC for arrest warrants
In a rare show of unity, staunch Netanyahu critics joined forces with government allies to criticize the court for demanding the duo's arrest. The blame for the war, which has devastated parts of the Gaza Strip and left tens of thousands dead, lies with militant groups. Hamas.
“The ICC arrest warrants are a sign of shame, not of Israel's leaders, but of the ICC itself and its members,” former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wrote on X.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called the court's measure “a reward for terrorism.”
Benny Gantz, who joined Netanyahu's war cabinet after the Hamas attack but resigned in June, criticized what he called the ICC's “moral blindness” and called the ruling a “shameful stain of historic proportions that will never be forgotten.” .
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultranationalist party in Netanyahu's coalition, said Israel should respond by annexing the country. .
Israel's 13-month campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 44,000 people and displaced nearly the enclave's entire population at least once, according to Gaza officials.
According to Israeli figures, the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.
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