Israel Netanyahu: Arrest warrant "anti-Semitic decision"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the international arrest warrants against himself and Joav Galant as "anti-Semitic decisions".

They were made by "biased judges driven by anti-Semitic hatred against Israel", his office said in a statement. Previously, the International Criminal Court in The Hague had issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israel's former defence minister Galant, as well as for the military leader of the terrorist organization Hamas, Mohammad Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri - also known as Mohammed Deif. However, he is said to have been killed in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip in July.

The judges in The Hague thus agreed to a request made by chief prosecutor Karim Khan in May. Netanyahu and Galant are therefore suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip since October 8, 2023.