Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Tuesday) addressed the threat by the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials, saying that this is a distortion of justice and history.
The prime minister first addressed the continued fighting in the Gaza Strip: "We will enter Rafah because we have no other choice. We will destroy the Hamas battalions there, we will complete all the war's objectives, including the return of all our hostages.".
Netanyahu added: "There are many forces trying to prevent us from doing this. Recently, another force has joined them - the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This court has no authority over the State of Israel. The possibility that it will issue arrest warrants for war crimes against IDF commanders and leaders of the state - this possibility is a scandal on a historic scale.".
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""80 years after the Holocaust, the international bodies that were created to prevent another Holocaust are considering denying the Jewish state its right to defend itself, defend itself against whom? Against those who came and are still openly working to commit genocide against us. What an absurdity, what a distortion of justice and history.".
He said, "This will be the first time that a democratic country, which is fighting for its life according to all the rules of international law, has been accused of war crimes. If this thing does happen, it will be an indelible stain on all of humanity. It will be an unprecedented anti-Semitic hate crime, a crime that will add fuel to the anti-Semitic incitement that is already raging in the world.".
Netanyahu explained: "The purpose of this step, if it is carried out, is to terrorize the leaders and soldiers of the State of Israel, essentially paralyzing the self-defense capability of the State of Israel. The Israeli government and the citizens of Israel reject this outright.".
He emphasized: "I want to make one thing clear. No decision, neither in The Hague nor anywhere else, will in the slightest harm our determination to achieve all the goals of the war - the release of all our hostages, a complete victory over Hamas and a guarantee that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, as well as to restore security and the residents to the north.".
The Prime Minister clarified: "Israel expects the leaders of the free world to come out firmly against this scandalous step, a step that will harm the self-defense capacity not only of the State of Israel, but of all democracies in the world. Israel expects these leaders to exert their full influence and all the means at their disposal to stop this dangerous step, which will constitute moral and historical bankruptcy.".
After the Prime Minister's statement at a cabinet meeting about the danger of international arrest warrants for Israeli officials in The Hague, Likud ministers came out against senior officials in the judicial system who do not oppose the court's intention to act against Israel.
According to a report in Israel Hayom, Justice Minister Yariv Levin first attacked senior officials in Israel's judicial system, saying, according to two ministers who attended the meeting, that "all those who have been explaining for years how much the judicial system protects us are not making up their minds.".
