US President Joe Biden called the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Galant outrageous.
‘The issuance of an arrest warrant by the ICC against Israel’s leadership is outrageous. Let me make it clear again: Israel and Hamas are not equal. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,’ Biden said in a released statement.
Earlier on Thursday, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The court also rejected arguments from Israel, which had sought to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to issue the warrants against its citizens. Israel also challenged the ICC’s jurisdiction to hear cases on the situation in Palestine in general.
In May, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said he was applying to the Pre-Trial Chamber for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant. In his application, he noted that they are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the current military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which began in October 2023.