Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement in Hebrew on Thursday in response to the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants against him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. He later released a separate statement in English.
"This is a dark day in the history of the nations. The International Court in The Hague, which was created to defend humanity, today turned into an enemy of humanity. This slanted court decided to issue arrest warrants against myself and against former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant under the fundamentally disproved accusation that we committed 'crimes against humanity,' while the truth is the total opposite, this is moral bankruptcy," Netanyahu stated.
He emphasized that "the same court, that accuses us of fictitious crimes, ignores true war crimes. Shocking war crimes that are committed against us and many others in the world. After the terrible massacre of October 7th, when Hamas murderers raped women, cut off heads, burned children in front of their parents, and abducted hundreds of our citizens - women, elderly, and children, they continue to commit war crimes against us, including the holding of 101 hostages, who we still haven't freed, and we are determined to return, just as we freed 154 of them so far. And what does the court in The Hague do in the face of these atrocities? Nothing. Sorry, it issues an arrest warrant for the body of Mohammed Deif."
He wondered: "What is the court in The Hague doing against the true crimes against humanity being committed in many places in the world? Also nothing. Millions of innocent civilians were murdered or uprooted from their homes in Iran, Syria, Yemen, and other places. Instead of acting against those dark regimes, the court chooses to level false accusations against the State of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. This is an antisemitic move with one goal: to deter me, to deter us, from exercising our natural right to defend ourselves against our enemies who aim to destroy us."
Netanyahu noted that the court's accusations are baseless. "They accuse the State of Israel of 'genocide' while we work to defend ourselves against an enemy that attempts to carry out a genocide against us. They accuse us of intentionally harming civilians, while we do everything to prevent harm to civilians - and this is against an enemy that hides behind civilians and uses them as human shields. They accuse us of starving the population while we bring in hundreds of thousands of tons of food to feed the population, and this is while Hamas is looting this food and starving the residents of Gaza.
"Everything is upside down: good turns into bad and bad turns into good. But here is the truth: no army is more moral than the IDF and no country is more moral than Israel. Just a short time ago, Israel vaccinated 97% of the residents of the Gaza Strip for polio. What genocide are they talking about in The Hague? No despicable decision can change the truth. It's not surprising that this infuriating decision was led by a Chief Prosecutor who is suspected of severe acts, and it's not surprising that this decision was made by judges who lost any compass of justice or fairness. The prosecutor's acts and judges' decisions are void of the meaning of the word 'justice' and turn the international court into a tool for political confrontation which lost all legitimacy as an international legal institution."
He concluded: "Israel does not recognize and will not recognize this twisted decision. But there is a lot of light in the dark. I cherish the heartwarming mobilization of many friends in the world, led by our friends in the United States. They made it clear that this decision would have severe consequences on the court and on those who participated with it in this matter. I wish to thank the elected officials in Israel, from across the political spectrum who stood as one against this despicable decision.
"No outrageous anti-Israel decision will prevent us, and won't prevent me, from continuing to defend our country in every way. We will not give in to the pressure. Together we will stand, together we will fight, and with G-d's help, together we will win."
