Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed today (Tuesday), in an interview he gave to the ABC network, the demand of the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant against him - because of the 'Iron Swords' war.
Are you concerned about travel following this arrest warrant?
Netanyahu: No, I'm not worried about travel. I'm not worried about our status at all. I think the prosecutor should be worried about his status because he's really turning the International Criminal Court into a special institution. People don't take this institution seriously. They see it as a political thing. I hope the judges of the court don't approve what the prosecutor says because that would turn them into an unqualified court.
"Israel is fighting a just war that is not ours alone. We are fighting the war of all democracies because if democracies are now faced with a situation where, after they have made tremendous efforts to get people out of danger, to provide humanitarian aid on a massive scale, if they are then told that they will be prosecuted because the terrorists they are fighting are using civilians as human shields, then others will do it again and every democracy will be prosecuted. We are the first..."
Netanyahu added: "The prosecutor is fueling anti-Semitism. Comparing us to Hamas is like issuing arrest warrants after September 11 against Bush and bin Laden."
He attacked: "I think it's absurd. It's beyond outrageous. He said we're preventing water from Gaza, he's making up a false accusation. We provide almost half of Gaza's water. He also said we're starving people. Are we starving people? We're providing half a million tons of food and medicine in 20,000 trucks.
"We do not have a starvation policy, we have a policy of maximum aid entry and do not intentionally stop anything. We have an obligation to allow trucks to enter the Strip and, as I said, we allowed 20,000 trucks to enter, we repaired the road so that they could enter. So who is preventing that? Hamas is the one who is looting them."
He added, referring to the prosecutor's allegations: "We have the opposite policy - to protect civilians. We sent a million messages to people in Gaza, something no army or government has done in modern urban warfare. We give up the element of surprise, tell people to flee from danger and let us finish the war against the terrorists."
The prime minister claimed in an interview that the prosecutor at The Hague "demonizes Israel and creates a misleading symmetry between Israel's democratic leadership and the terrorists." He said, "The prosecutor has cast a heavy stain on the court, turning it into an outcast. Countries are not taking this seriously, including President Biden and lawmakers - who are planning to impose sanctions against the prosecutor."
The Prime Minister was asked in an interview about plans for the 'day after' in Gaza - and replied: "I have a plan for the day after the war. The day after - it is the day after Hamas. It must first be eliminated, and then the Strip must be demilitarized. Israel will have the ability to act and 'clean up' recurring terrorism." He clarified: "In Gaza, there will be a civilian government of Gazans who are not Hamas members, together with moderate Arab countries and the international community - which does not want to destroy Israel. The path to peace runs only through victory."
Netanyahu's words come a day after the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Karim Khan, announced that he had requested arrest warrants against the Prime Minister, Defense Minister Galant, and also against senior Hamas figures Haniyeh, Daf, and Sinwar.
The meaning of issuing an arrest warrant is that all 123 countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute must respect it and arrest the person who enters their territory. The US, for example, is not one of these countries - but Britain, France, Canada and many European countries are. Therefore, if arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Galant will not be able to fly to the 123 countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute, for fear of being arrested.
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