Washington DC [US]: US President-elect Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor nominee, Mike Waltz, stated that the US government has refuted allegations made by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Waltz asserted that Israel had lawfully defended its citizens.
In a post on X, he said, “The ICC has no credibility, and these allegations have been refuted by the US government. Israel has lawfully defended its people & borders from genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January.”
France and the Netherlands stated that they would respect the ICC warrants. The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, emphasised that the court’s decision “has to be respected and implemented,” describing it as “binding” on all state parties, including all EU members, according to the Times of Israel.
Although Israel and the US are not members of the ICC, they are privy to its laws. The court lacks an enforcement mechanism and depends on cooperation from its member states, as reported by the Times of Israel.
According to the Times of Israel, Attorney Yuval Kaplinsky, a former head of the International Law Department at the State Attorney’s Office, stated that the warrants imply that if either Netanyahu or Gallant travel to countries that are ICC members, “there is a chance they will be arrested and extradited [for trial in The Hague]. I assume they will act with caution and avoid such situations.”
Netanyahu’s office denounced the ICC’s decision as “antisemitic,” per the Times of Israel.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office pledged that the court’s ruling would not deter Israel from protecting its citizens. It rejected the charges as “false” and “absurd,” claiming they originated from ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s attempts to “deflect attention from serious allegations against him for sexual harassment” and from “biased judges motivated by antisemitic hatred of Israel.”
“That is why the prosecutor lied when he told American senators that he would not act against Israel before hearing its side. That is why he abruptly canceled his planned visit to Israel last May, shortly after allegations of sexual harassment were raised against him, and announced his intention to issue arrest warrants against the prime minister and former defence minister,” the statement read, as reported by the Times of Israel.
On Thursday, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and a senior Hamas official over alleged war crimes committed during the conflict following the October 7 attacks on Israel last year, according to an ICC statement.