There was widespread condemnation across the Israeli political spectrum, including from prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s bitterest opponents, of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants against him and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
Many described the move as anti-Semitic and a victory for Israel’s terrorist enemies.
Mr Netanyahu said in a statement that “the anti-Semitic decision of the International Criminal Court is akin to a modern-day Dreyfus affair – and it will end in the same way”.
Israel, he said, “utterly rejects the absurd and false actions and accusations against it by the ICC which is a biased and discriminatory political body.
“There is no war more justified than the one Israel is conducting in Gaza since October 7th, 2023, after the terrorist organisation Hamas launched a deadly attack against it, committing the largest massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
“The decision was made by a corrupt chief prosecutor attempting to save himself from serious allegations of sexual harassment, and by biased judges driven by anti-Semitic hatred toward Israel.”
Mr Gallant, who was dismissed as defence minister by Mr Netanyahu earlier this month, said the ICC would be remembered in infamy. He accused the court of equating Israel and Hamas “and thus legitimising the murder of babies, the rape of women and the abduction of the elderly from their beds”. He added that the court’s decision “sets a dangerous precedent against the right to self-defence and moral warfare, while encouraging murderous terrorism”.
Israeli president Yitzhak Herzog described the decision as a “dark day for justice”, saying the warrant “ignores the fact that Israel is a vibrant democracy” and that it is “acting under international humanitarian law, and going to great lengths to provide for the humanitarian needs of the civilian population”.
Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Strength) party, called on Israel to annex “all areas of Judea and Samaria [the occupied West Bank]” in response to the ICC decision, adding that the warrants were “an unprecedented disgrace, but not at all surprising”.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned the decision, saying “Israel is defending its life against terror groups that attacked, murdered and raped our citizens. The arrest warrants are a prize for terrorism.”
Naftali Bennett, who recently headed a government alongside Mr Lapid, said the arrest warrants were a “mark of shame” on the court, labelling it a “prize for terrorism”.
Transportation minister Miri Regev described the decision as “anti-Semitism disguised as justice”, adding that the warrants “are a legal absurdity”.
There was also condemnation from Jewish groups worldwide, with the World Jewish Congress (WJC) expressing “profound concern”.
“We firmly believe that this action is fuelled by political bias brought about by the influence of terrorist regimes, including Iran,” the organisation said in a statement. It urged the international community to reject “this unjust move” and not to comply with the arrest warrants.
The Jewish Federations of North America denounced the ICC arrest warrants as “historically unjust”, describing them as “a win for terrorists everywhere”.
Hamas welcomed the ICC move even though an arrest warrant was also issued for its military chief Mohammed Deif, whom Israel says was killed by an IDF strike in Gaza in July. The militant group called on the ICC “to expand the scope of accountability to all criminal occupation leaders”.
Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said that even if the two Israeli leaders were not arrested, “the truth that has been revealed is that international justice is with us and against the Zionist entity”.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
