In his first public comments on the arrest warrant sought against him by the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the “absurd and false” decision is “directed against the entire State of Israel.”
“It is directed against the IDF soldiers, who are fighting with supreme heroism against the vile Hamas murderers,” he said in a video statement.
Chief prosecutor Karim Khan has not issued arrest warrants, instead announcing his intention to seek them for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, alongside Hamas’s three top leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. It will be up to the court’s pre-trial judges to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to issue warrants.
“With what chutzpah do you dare compare the monsters of Hamas to the soldiers of the IDF, the most moral army in the world?” Netanyahu asked. “With what audacity do you compare between the Hamas that murdered, burned, butchered, raped and kidnapped our brothers and sisters, and the IDF soldiers who are fighting a just war that is unparalleled in its morality?”
Netanyahu said he rejected “with disgust” Khan’s ostensible comparison, and said it is an example of “the new antisemitism” that has moved from college campuses to The Hague. The premier promised the Israeli public that the ICC will not prevent Israel from toppling Hamas and achieving “total victory.”
Israel had been in touch with the ICC chief prosecutor’s office in recent weeks, The Times of Israel learned on Monday, and Israeli officials were expecting to host ICC officials starting this evening for a preliminary visit to plan an official visit by Khan.
Israel was ready to spend time with Khan to show the prosecutor how its decisions are made, where legal experts fit into the decision-making process, how strikes are approved in the IDF, what Israel is doing around humanitarian aid, and more. Instead it was taken totally by surprise by Khan’s announcement on Monday.
Khan made an unofficial visit to Israel after October 7 to meet with the families of hostages and tour some of the hardest-hit border communities.
The fact that Khan made the announcement in front of cameras further frustrated Israeli officials, as it indicated that he was chasing headlines.
For now, the Foreign Ministry is involved in a diplomatic blitz to ask other countries to publicly decry Khan’s decision. The ministry is convinced that other countries will issue statements similar to those that have already come from the US, Czechia, Austria, and the UK.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz is slated to fly to Paris on Tuesday to meet his French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné; National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet; Senate President Gérard Larcher; and Jewish leaders.
Katz said in a statement that he will discuss the ICC prosecutor’s decision to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, the fighting in Rafah, French attempts to broker a ceasefire in Lebanon, sanctions against Iran, and antisemitism in France.
Israeli politicians from across the spectrum condemned the ICC announcement on Monday, and 106 members of the Knesset signed on to a declaration against Khan’s decision to seek such arrest warrants.
The declaration averred that Israel is fighting a “just war against a criminal terror organization,” within the bounds of international law, and the “outrageous comparison” between Israeli leaders and Hamas chiefs “is an indelible historical crime and a clear expression of antisemitism.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.