Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) of anti-Semitism after it issued arrest warrants against him and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Netanyahu likened the ICC’s decision to the Dreyfus affair and said, “The anti-Semitic decision of the International Criminal Court is comparable to a modern-day Dreyfus trial — and it will end in the same way.”
The warrants, announced in The Hague, cite alleged crimes committed from October 8, 2023, to May 20, 2024.
Netanyahu defended Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, launched after Hamas’s October 7 attacks, dismissing the ICC’s actions as baseless accusations.
He questioned ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s integrity, suggesting the warrants were issued to distract from harassment allegations Khan has faced.
Meanwhile, Yoav Gallant condemned the warrants, calling them a “dangerous precedent” that equates Israel’s actions with Hamas’s terrorism. “The decision… legitimises the murder of babies, the rape of women, and the abduction of the elderly,” Gallant wrote on X.
The United States rejected the ICC’s ruling, citing jurisdictional concerns, while the EU deemed the warrants “binding.”
In response of the ruling, Amnesty International urged ICC member states to arrest those charged, labelling Netanyahu “a wanted man.” Meanwhile, Hamas welcomed the decision as a step towards justice, while Turkey called for action against Israel’s alleged war crimes.