Benjamin Netanyahu had been concerned for weeks that the International Criminal Court could seek his arrest over his role in the Israel-Hamas war—so much so, apparently, that he had asked President Joe Biden to intervene on his behalf. On Monday, as the prospect of war crime charges against the Israeli prime minister and members of his cabinet appears to be growing more likely, the president hailed the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials as “outrageous.” Biden added that the US will always stand with Israel in threats to its security: “Whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.”
Earlier Monday, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan had told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that the court is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar over the terror attack on Israel and the US ally’s military response, which has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and provoked international criticism. Two other Hamas leaders, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh, are also facing ICC arrest warrants. “Nobody is above the law,” Khan told Amanpour.
Both Israel and Hamas decried the calls from the ICC. Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, said the prosecutor’s announcement was “beyond outrageous.” Hamas said in a statement that it “strongly denounces” the potential charges. The warrant requests, now under consideration by an ICC panel, are a striking international rebuke against the Netanyahu regime and comes just days after Benny Gantz—Israel’s war cabinet minister—threatened to resign from his post if Netanyahu does not establish a post-war plan for Gaza by June 8. “If you put the national over personal, you will find in us partners in the struggle,” Gantz said. “But if you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation into the abyss, we will be forced to quit the government.”
But Netanyahu—who is also being urged by US officials to “connect its military operations [in Gaza] to a political strategy“—has remained defiant, dismissing Gantz’s remarks as “washed-up words” and playing hardball with the US, even blocking Israeli military and intelligence officials from meeting with American counterparts at various points in the conflict.
It remains to be seen if the potential ICC arrest warrants could alter Netanyahu’s war effort, which has continued to expand into Rafah—the city Biden had warned would be his “red line.” But war crime charges would further isolate Netanyahu on the world stage—and put even more pressure on Biden to break more significantly with him.
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