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The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has applied for arrest warrants against leaders of Israel and Hamas on war crimes charges.
Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, said on Monday that his office had issued a statement on Monday that the prosecutor’s office had issued a letter to Israel regarding crimes allegedly committed during the October 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza. He said he had applied for an arrest warrant against Hamas leaders.
Khan said his office has “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant bear “criminal responsibility” for “war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Announced.
Khan also arrested three Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (also known as Deif), on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. I applied for a letter.
Here are some reactions to this announcement:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Netanyahu called the ICC’s decision a disgrace and an attack on Israel.
“I reject with disgust any comparison between the prosecutors at The Hague and the mass murderers of democratic Israel and Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
“How dare you compare Hamas, which has murdered, burned, butchered, beheaded, raped and kidnapped our people, with the soldiers who are fighting a just war? ?”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog
Herzog said: “I would like to draw a comparison between these heinous terrorists and the democratically elected government of Israel, which strives to fulfill its obligation to protect and protect its people in full compliance with the principles of international law.” The attempt is outrageous and unacceptable to anyone.” ”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
Smotrich likened the ICC prosecutor’s announcement regarding requests for arrest warrants for Israeli officials to Nazi propaganda.
“Not since Nazi propaganda have I seen such a display of hypocrisy and hatred for Jews as the Hague Tribunal,” Smotrich told X.
Hamas
Hamas has condemned the ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek an arrest warrant against its leader, accusing Karim Khan of “trying to equate the victim with the executioner.”
The group called for the request to be rescinded, adding that Khan’s application for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant was “seven months too late.”
While welcoming the ICC’s decision to apply for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, the Gaza government media office also condemned the decision to apply for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders.
“We appreciate the decision of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for two Zionist war criminals,” the office’s statement begins.
“We view the issuance of these memorandums as a legal step in the right direction, despite the fact that their issuance was delayed,” it continued.
The office also said it “regrets the fact that this step was accompanied by the issuance of similar sentences against some of our country’s leaders,” referring to the request for arrest warrants against several Hamas officials.
Mr. Wasel Abu Yousef, Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
Youssef said Palestinians have the right to defend themselves.
“The ICC must issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials pursuing crimes of genocide in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
Mr. Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative
Barghouti said the ICC’s action confirmed that “no one is immune from international law”.
“We do this to condemn the crimes of genocide committed by the Israeli rulers and military against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and to hold them accountable for committing these crimes in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law. I believe this is the first step towards achieving this,” Foreign Minister Barghouti said. statement.
Belgian Foreign Minister Haja Rabib
Lahbib said crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level.
“The request for arrest warrants against both Hamas and Israeli officials, filed by court prosecutor Karim Khan, is an important step in the investigation of the Palestinian situation,” she wrote in X.
“Belgium will continue to support the important efforts of international justice to ensure that those responsible for all crimes are held accountable,” the minister added.
Austrian Prime Minister Karl Nehammer
Nehammer said Austria fully respects the independence of the ICC, but said the move to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas officials at the same time was “incomprehensible”.
“But it is incomprehensible that the leader of the terrorist organization Hamas, whose stated goal is the extinction of the state of Israel, is mentioned at the same time as the democratically elected representatives of that very state,” he said. .
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala
“The ICC Chief Prosecutor’s proposal to issue arrest warrants for representatives of democratically elected governments and leaders of Islamist terrorist organizations is appalling and completely unacceptable,” Fiala said. .
“Let us not forget that it was Hamas that attacked Israel in October, killing, injuring and kidnapping thousands of innocent people. led to the Gaza War and the suffering of civilians in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Press Secretary
A spokesman for the British Prime Minister said the ICC decision was “unhelpful in terms of suspending fighting, rescuing hostages or obtaining humanitarian aid”.
“The UK, like other countries, does not yet recognize Palestine as a state and Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute,” the spokesperson said, outlining the ICC’s jurisdiction.
joe biden us president
Biden said in a statement that the request for arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gallant was “outrageous.”
“Let me be clear: no matter what this prosecutor says, there is no equivalent relationship between Israel and Hamas,” he said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
Blinken said in a statement that the United States would deny the ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli officials and Hamas.
“We reject the prosecutor’s equating Israel to Hamas,” he said, echoing President Biden’s position.
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing
Rapporteur Balakrishnan Rajagopal welcomed the request for an arrest warrant for Khan and said he believed the charges against the Israeli leader were “likely to stand.”
“Due to the ICC prosecutor’s warrant request, charges against Hamas for taking and killing hostages are likely to be established, but other charges will not be established,” Rajagopal wrote on X.
“All charges against Israeli leaders are likely to succeed. And charges involving attacks on various civilian facilities, including residences, are missing!”
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
International rights organizations welcomed the ICC’s decision.
“Victims of serious abuses in Israel and Palestine have faced a wall of impunity for decades. This principled first step by prosecutors is an important step in bringing to light those responsible for the atrocities committed in recent months. “This opens the door for individuals to answer for their actions in a fair trial,” HRW said.
“ICC member states should be prepared to resolutely defend the independence of the ICC, as hostile pressure is likely to increase while the ICC judges consider Prosecutor (Karim) Khan’s request. .”
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