US President Joe Biden described as scandalous the International Criminal Court’s decision to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
“The issuance of an arrest warrant against Israeli leaders by the ICC is outrageous. Let me be clear again: Israel and Hamas are not the same. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.” – Biden said in a 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 sought to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to issue injunctions against its citizens. Israel also questioned the ICC’s jurisdiction to hear cases related to the situation in Palestine as a whole.
In May, the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced that he would submit a request to the Pre-Trial Chamber for arrest warrants to be issued for Netanyahu and Galant. In his statement he pointed out 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, RIA Novosti recalls.
