Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden criticized the International Criminal Court for seeking an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for war crimes, along with leaders of the terror group Hamas. ICC chief prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
In a video statement, Netanyahu responded “Mr. Khan creates a twisted and false moral equivalency between the leaders of Israel and the henchmen of Hamas.”
In a statement, President Biden called the ICC effort “outrageous.” He added, “Let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.”
Today, we have David Rubin, former mayor of Shiloh, Israel, an expert on Israeli politics and security, to discuss this troubling effort by the ICC and the world reaction to it.
Welcome, David.
Q&A:
1. Why did the ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan do this? Do we know?
2. Is there a reason he would take this long to issue the warrants for Hamas leaders? He’s known of their war crimes since the horrific, unprovoked attack on Israel since October 7th.
3. Is the ICC truly comparing Israeli leaders to terror organizations?
4. Because Israel is not a signatory to the ICC but Palestine is, does this put Hamas in greater jeopardy?
5. Were you pleased to see the response by President Joe Biden?
6. On Monday, Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called for “decent nations” to defund the ICC. Does that stand a chance?
7. Does this warrant have any effect beyond being a publicity stunt?
David Rubin is the former mayor of Shiloh, Israel, and a noted author and speaker on Israeli politics and security. He is also the founder of the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund, dedicated to healing the trauma of children who have been victims of terrorist attacks.
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Story on Biden and Netanyahu reaction: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/icc-arrest-warrants-sought-israel-benjamin-netanyahu-hamas-yahya-sinwar/
Defunding story: https://www.foxnews.com/world/ex-israeli-pm-calls-defunding-icc-court-requests-arrest-warrant-netanyahu-war-crimes
