Benjamin Netanyahu calls International Criminal Court's arrest warrants against him as 'anti-semitic'

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Pic/AFP

The International Criminal Court (ICC) headquartered in The Hague has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday, accusing them of "crimes against humanity and war crimes," reported the ANI.

Enforcing policies of starvation in Gaza, targeting civilians are some of the charges against the Israeli leaders.

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The Israeli PM criticised the warrant calling the ICC discussion "antisemitic" on his social media handle, comparing it with the infamous Dreyfus trial.

In a video posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Netanyahu said, "The antisemitic decision of the international court in The Hague is a modern Dreyfus trial, and it will end the same way."

Drawing parallels between his situation and the false treason charges against French Jewish officer Alferd Dreyfus, 130 years ago, Netanyahu referred to Emile Zola's famous essay J'accuse that defended Dreyfus and said, "Now an international court in The Hague, also headed by a French judge, is repeating this outrageous offence. It is falsely accusing me and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of deliberately targeting civilians."

Netanyahu defended the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza, calling it necessary measures to minimise civilian casualties.

"We issue millions of text messages, phone calls, and leaflets to warn the citizens of Gaza to get out of harm's way, while Hamas terrorists do everything in their power to keep them in harm's way, including using them as human shields," he said.

The Israeli PM dismissed accusations of imposing a starvation policy, and stated that Israel had supplied tons of food in Gaza. He said, "We've supplied Gaza with 700,000 tons of food to feed the people of Gaza. That's 3,200 calories for every man, woman, and child in Gaza. And these supplies are routinely looted by Hamas terrorists, who deprive their people of much-needed food."

Noting that Israel had facilitated the polio vaccination of 97 per cent of Gaza's population, he called ICC's charges baseless, questioning, "What in God's name are they talking about in The Hague?"

The Israeli Prime Minister slammed the ICC for focusing on Israel while continuing to ignore war crimes in countries like Iran, Syria, and Yemen.

Netanyahu also denounced the court for its failure to act against Hamas, describing their atrocities during the recent Gaza conflict. "No biassed anti-Israel decision in The Hague will prevent the State of Israel from defending its citizens," stated ANI.

Meanwhile, he thanked his allies, especially the United States for condemning the ICC's move and said, "We will continue to do everything we must to defend our citizens and defend our state against Iran's Axis of terror, which includes Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and others."

"Our enemies are your enemies, and our victory will be your victory--the victory of civilization over barbarism and tyranny," Netanyahu added.

(With inputs from ANI)