


(Reuters)
The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor said on Monday he had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
Here are some reactions to the decision:
ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER ISRAEL KATZ:
The ICC prosecutor’s move to seek arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defence minister is “scandalous”.
“I intend to speak with foreign ministers of leading countries around the world to urge them to oppose the prosecutor’s decision and declare that even if warrants are issued, they do not intend to enforce them against Israeli leaders.”
PALESTINIAN MILITANT GROUP HAMAS STATEMENT:
“Hamas strongly denounces the attempts of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to equate the victim with the executioner by issuing arrest warrants against a number of Palestinian resistance leaders.
“Hamas…demands the cancellation of all arrest warrants issued against leaders of the Palestinian resistance, for violating U.N. conventions and resolutions.”
BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI WAR CABINET MINISTER:
“Drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a blood-thirsty terror organisation (Hamas) is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy.”
ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER BEZALEL SMOTRICH:
The decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant is a “show of hypocrisy and Jew-hatred”.
“Arrest warrants against them are arrest warrants against us all.”
WASEL ABU YOUSSEF, MEMBER OF THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
“The Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves… The ICC is required to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials who are pursuing crimes of genocide in the Gaza Strip.”
SAMI ABU ZUHRI, SENIOR HAMAS OFFICIAL:
The decision “equates the victim with the executioner” and encourages Israel to continue its “war of extermination” in Gaza.
CZECH PRIME MINISTER PETR FIALA:
“The ICC Chief Prosecutor’s proposal to issue an arrest warrant for the representatives of a democratically elected government together with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organisation is appalling and completely unacceptable.
“We must not forget that it was Hamas that attacked Israel in October and killed, injured and kidnapped thousands of innocent people. It was this completely unprovoked terrorist attack that led to the current war in Gaza and the suffering of civilians in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon.”
Comments