Netanyahu responds to reports that ICC could issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials: this would be an ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’

Following reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague was considering issuing arrest warrants against Israeli officials, Netanyahu released a statement in which XUS officials said they would try to block the measure if the ICC goes ahead with it.

You have to hear this to believe this. pic.twitter.com/msPDwc3H7t

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 30, 2024

Read Benjamin Netanyahu’s full statement:

The International Criminal Court in The Hague is considering issuing arrest warrants for senior Israeli government and military officials. This would be a shame of historic proportions. International bodies such as the ICC emerged in the aftermath of the Holocaust against the Jewish people. They were sent to prevent such horrors, to prevent future genocides. But now the international court is trying Israel in the dock as we defend ourselves against genocidal terrorists and regimes, Iran of course, who are openly working to destroy the one and only Jewish state.

Branding Israel’s leaders and soldiers as war criminals will pour jet fuel on the flames of anti-Semitism, the fires already raging on America’s campuses and in capitals around the world. It will also be the first time that a democratic country fighting for its life under the rules of war has itself been accused of war crimes.

The Israeli army, the IDF, is one of the most moral armies in the world. Endless measures are needed to prevent civilian casualties. Measures that no other army takes. It does this while fighting a terrorist enemy that uses its own citizens as human shields.

You know the truth. Hamas places its weapons, its terrorists, in hospitals, schools, mosques and in civilian areas. They do this to gain immunity and maximize civilian casualties. So while Hamas shows no concern for the lives of Palestinians and steals humanitarian aid intended for civilians, Israel facilitates a wave of humanitarian aid to Gaza. And we do this to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people are met.

Who is the ICC talking to instead of praising Israel for adhering to the rules of war while fighting an enemy that violates every rule of war, including taking 133 Israeli men, women and children hostage? The democracy called Israel. And by targeting Israel, the ICC would target all democracies because it would undermine their inherent right to defend themselves against brutal terrorism and deliberate aggression.

It is clear that this threat from the ICC is not an attempt to enforce the law; Israel is not even under the jurisdiction of the court and the country has an independent judicial system that rigorously investigates all violations of the law. Rather, this attempt by the ICC is an attempt to cripple Israel’s ability to defend itself.

The government and people of Israel roundly reject this grave threat to our security, this grave threat to our existence. And I want to assure you that no action by the ICC will have an impact on Israel’s ironclad determination to achieve the goals of our war with Hamas terrorists. We will destroy Hamas’ military and administrative capabilities in Gaza. We will release all our hostages, and we will ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel.

Israel expects the leaders of the free world to vigorously oppose the ICC’s excessive attack on Israel’s inherent right to self-defense. We expect them to use all available resources to stop this dangerous move. Six months after the terrible Hamas massacre on October 7^e80 years after the horrors of the Holocaust, the Jewish state calls on decent people everywhere to reject this outrage from the ICC, to stand with Israel in our fight against the barbarians of Hamas and Iran, and to work towards securing a more peaceful world. .