Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu terms ‘war crime’ accusations antisemitic, warns of consequences

Hours after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, the Israeli Prime Minister hit back at the court in The Hague for its “antisemitic decision”.

In a video message shared by him on his official X handle, Netanyahu said “The antisemitic (anti-Jews) decision of the international court in The Hague is a modern Dreyfus trial, and it will end the same way.”

The Dreyfus trial Netanyahu referred to in his video message while hitting out at the ICC, was a political and judicial scandal that took place in France between 1894 and 1906, in which a Jewish French Army officer named Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted in an alleged case of treason of selling military secrets to the Germans. He was later found ‘not guilty’ and was reinstated to the French Army.

The ICC accused Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant of crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution, and inhumane acts, as well as the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.

“Now in International Court in The Hague, also headed by a French judge, is repeating this outrageous offence. It is falsely accusing me, the democratically elected Prime Minister of the state of Israel and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant of deliberately targeting civilians. This when we do all in our power to avoid civilian casualties,” Netanyahu said.

He went on to add that the Israeli authorities send out evacuation messages through various means to get civilians in Gaza out of harm’s way, while the Hamas terrorists do everything to keep them in harm’s way, including shooting them and using them as human shields.

The ICC also alleged that the Netanyahu administration restricted essential supplies such as food, water, and medical aid to civilians in Gaza, leading to severe humanitarian crises and deaths, including among children.

Netanyahu rebutted that claim, saying that while Israel has served Gaza civilans with 700,000 tons of food, the ICC is falsely accusing him of ‘deliberately’ starving people, claiming that these supplies are looted by Hamas terrorists in order to deprive their people of food.

“In the last few weeks, Israel facilitated the vaccination of 97 per cent of the people of Gaza against polio. This doesn’t prevent the court from accusing us of genocide,” Netanyahu said, expressing disbelief.

He further asserted Israel’s war in Gaza was just after Hamas attacked the Jewish nation ‘unprovoked’ on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli Prime Minister claimed that the prosecutor was levelling false charges against him and the former defence minister, just in an attempt to divert attention from “sexual harassment charges.”

He slammed the ICC judges, accusing them of turning a blind eye to ‘real war crimes’ committed in Iran, Syria and Yemen. “Nor did the court do anything against the Hamas terrorists who raped our women, beheaded our men, burnt babies alive in front of their parents and kidnapped hundreds of men, women and children to the undergound dungeons of Gaza,” Netanyahu added.

Netanyahu also issued a stern warning and said that the ICC and those who supported its decision would have to face “severe consequences”. He also called out Iran for waging a proxy war against Israel through Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis.

“Our enemies are your enemies. Our victory will be your victory. The victory of civilisation over barbarism and tyranny,” Netanyahu concluded.

Israel had launched attacks on Gaza in retaliation for the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7 last year. The war between Israel and Hamas has led to the death of thousands of civilians, while lakhs have been displaced. The key infrastructures in Gaza, including hospitals and schools, were also reduced to rubble as Israel vowed to wipe out Hamas.