International Courant
LONDON — A plan by an Worldwide Felony Court docket prosecutor to hunt arrest warrants for Israeli leaders is “absurd” and casts a “horrible stain” on the court docket, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated.
“We now provide nearly half of Gaza’s water. Earlier than the battle we solely equipped 7%. That is utterly the other of what he says. He says we’re ravenous folks?’ Netanyahu stated on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday. “We delivered half 1,000,000 tons of meals and medication with 20,000 vans. This man is out to demonize Israel. He is doing an excellent job.”
A prosecutor on the ICC stated on Monday he would file requests for arrest warrants for Hamas and Israeli leaders together with Netanyahu, claiming they “bear legal duty” for “battle crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity” in Gaza.
Prosecutor Karim AA Khan stated he would search arrest warrants for each Netanyahu and Israeli Protection Minister Yoav Gallant. Khan drew up a listing of accusations in opposition to Netanyahu and Gallant, together with ravenous civilians, intentionally inflicting nice struggling and different “inhumane acts.”
“We allege that the charged crimes in opposition to humanity have been dedicated as a part of a widespread and systematic assault on the Palestinian civilian inhabitants, in accordance with state coverage,” Khan stated in an announcement. “These crimes, in our opinion, proceed to today.”
President Joe Biden referred to as the prosecutor’s resolution to difficulty arrest warrants in opposition to Israeli leaders “outrageous.”
“And let me be clear: No matter this accuser could suggest, there isn’t a equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas,” Biden stated Monday.
The prosecutor’s assertion got here as Israel continues to contemplate a attainable large-scale invasion of Rafah, a metropolis in southern Gaza the place many Palestinians have sought refuge throughout Israel’s battle with Hamas.
“The battle in Rafah is essential. It’s not solely in regards to the remaining (Hamas) battalions there, but additionally about their escape and provide pipelines,” Netanyahu stated final week whereas chatting with troops afterwards. take a flight of the Gaza Strip. “This combat, of which you might be an integral half, is a combat that can determine many issues on this marketing campaign.”
Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the prime minister’s workplace in Jerusalem early this month for greater than two hours. Blinken reiterated “the US’ clear place on Rafah” at that assembly, Matthew Miller, a State Division spokesman, stated on the time.
US officers have been in “shut contact” with Israeli leaders within the weeks since that assembly, letting them know the US is against a significant navy operation within the metropolis. stated on Monday.
“We do not suppose this may be productive for Israel’s safety, both within the quick or long run,” Miller stated, “and we expect it might have a dramatic affect on the lives of the Palestinian folks there and on the flexibility to obtain humanitarian help.”
Joe Simonetti and Shannon Ok. Crawford of ABC Information contributed to this report.
‘Hit Job’: ICC Prosecutor Looking for Arrest Warrants for Israeli Leaders Is ‘Absurd’, Says Netanyahu
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