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With exception of Arab Hadash, Israeli parties slam ICC's Netanyahu warrant

Apart from the Arab Hadash party, Israeli political leaders across the spectrum have condemned the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks during a press conference with Serbia's president (not pictured) after their meeting at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade, on Sept. 11, 2024. — OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

The leaders of all of the political parties represented in Israel's Knesset but the Arab Hadash lambasted the International Criminal Court's Thursday decision to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. 

The heads of both coalition and opposition parties called the decision immoral and said it disregarded Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack on the south of the country.

Shortly after the ICC announcement, Netanyahu's office issued a statement reading, "The antisemitic decision of the International Criminal Court is a modern Dreyfus trial — and will end the same way." 

The statement attacked ICC prosecutor Karim Khan personally, referring to allegations of sexual harassment against a coworker. It read that the ICC decision was made "by a corrupt chief prosecutor who is trying to save himself from sexual harassment accusations and biased judges who are motivated by antisemitic hatred of Israel." It claimed that Khan "lied when he told American senators that he would take no action until he had visited Israel and heard its side. Instead, he cancelled his arrival in Israel last May, several days after suspicions of sexual harassment were made against him, and announced his intention to issue arrest warrants."

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