Netanyahu says Israel won't back down after ICC arrest warrants

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu severely criticized the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants against him and a former minister, and said his government won’t be deterred from continuing its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The Hague-based court’s announcement on Thursday was “anti-Semitic” and Israel will keep “defending its citizens,” Netanyahu said in his first direct comments.

“Israel will not recognize the validity of this decision,” he said. “No war is more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza after Hamas attacked us unprovoked, launching the worst massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”

The ICC also issued warrants for Israel’s ex-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif. Israel said the latter was killed in Gaza months ago, though Hamas, an Iran-backed militant group designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and others, never confirmed his death.

While Netanyahu is unlikely to ever stand trial at the ICC, he will have to be careful where he travels. Most of Israel’s major allies — including the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Japan — are ICC signatories and, in theory, should arrest him if he visits.

Still, Hungary became the first ICC signatory to say it would disregard the ICC’s move. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of Netanyahu, on Friday said he’ll invite the Israeli leader to Budapest and guarantee he won’t be detained.

Israel’s main backer, the U.S., is not a signatory and condemned the ICC.

“The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous,” President Joe Biden said. “There is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

Israel wants Biden to impose sanctions that would ban ICC personnel from the U.S., among other steps, according to an Israeli official who asked not to be identified.

If he doesn’t, Israel hopes President-elect Donald Trump will. Other ideas include sanctioning countries that accede to the ICC’s arrest warrants, the official said.

Michael Waltz, who Trump has chosen as his national security adviser, said the court has “no credibility.”

“You can expect a strong response to the anti-Semitic bias of the ICC” in January, when Trump enters office, Waltz said.

Israel went to war with Hamas after the militant group raided the south of the country on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. Around 44,000 people have been killed in Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health authority in the Palestinian territory, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The ICC warrants are “for crimes against humanity and war crimes,” the court said. Those include “starvation as a method of warfare” as well as “murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”

Much of Gaza has been turned to rubble and the conflict has triggered anti-Israel protests in the U.S., Europe and Arab world.

Talks stalled

Truce talks between Israel and Hamas, mainly mediated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, have been stalled for months. While Israel has destroyed much of Hamas’ infrastructure and killed perhaps half its roughly 35,000 fighters, there’s still heavy fighting in the north of Gaza.

The U.S. previously said the ICC would “jeopardize” the cease-fire talks if it issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.

The United Nations says there’s a humanitarian crisis in much of Gaza and that aid organizations are struggling to provide enough assistance. The U.S. and other countries have urged Israel to allow in more food, medicine and fuel.

Israel has said it’s doing all it can to get aid into Gaza and that many of the trucks that cross into the Palestinian territory are looted by Hamas and other groups. Aid organizations blame Israel for the breakdown of law and order.

The Israeli government has repeatedly denied the allegations of the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who sought the warrants from the court’s judges in May.

The Israeli military adds that it complies with international law and takes plenty of action to try to ensure civilians aren’t harmed by its air strikes and ground operations.

Israel’s conflict against Hamas has spread to Lebanon, where the Israeli military is fighting Hezbollah, another Iran-backed group designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.

Truce talks for that war have progressed this week, with Amos Hochstein, one of Biden’s Middle East envoys, traveling to Lebanon and Israel to meet officials. He said he’s managed to bridge some of the gaps between the sides, but it’s still unclear if he can clinch a deal.