(Reuters) - The International Criminal Court's prosecutor said on Monday he had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
Here are some reactions to the announcement:
ISRAELI PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG:
"Any attempt to draw parallels between these atrocious terrorists and a democratically elected government of Israel - working to fulfil its duty to defend and protect its citizens entirely in adherence to the principles of international law - is outrageous and cannot be accepted by anyone."
ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER ISRAEL KATZ:
"I intend to speak with foreign ministers of leading countries around the world to urge them to oppose the prosecutor's decision and declare that even if warrants are issued, they do not intend to enforce them against Israeli leaders."
PALESTINIAN MILITANT GROUP HAMAS STATEMENT:
"Hamas strongly denounces the attempts of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to equate the victim with the executioner by issuing arrest warrants against a number of Palestinian resistance leaders.
"Hamas...demands the cancellation of all arrest warrants issued against leaders of the Palestinian resistance, for violating U.N. conventions and resolutions."
SPOKESPERSON FOR BRITISH PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK:
"This action is not helpful in relation to reaching a pause in the fighting, getting hostages out or getting humanitarian aid in."
BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI WAR CABINET MINISTER:
"Drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a blood-thirsty terror organisation (Hamas) is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy."
AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR KARL NEHAMMER:
"We fully respect the independence of the ICC. The fact however that the leader of the terrorist organisation Hamas whose declared goal is the extinction of the State of Israel is being mentioned at the same time as the democratically elected representatives of that very State is non-comprehensible."
SENATOR JIM RISCH, SENIOR REPUBLICAN ON THE U.S. SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE:
"There is no cause for why the court should be investigating Israel as it is not a party to the Rome Statute and Israel has a fully functional judiciary."
ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER BEZALEL SMOTRICH:
The decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant is a "show of hypocrisy and Jew-hatred".
"Arrest warrants against them are arrest warrants against us all."
WASEL ABU YOUSSEF, MEMBER OF THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
"The Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves... The ICC is required to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials who are pursuing crimes of genocide in the Gaza Strip."
SAMI ABU ZUHRI, SENIOR HAMAS OFFICIAL:
The decision "equates the victim with the executioner" and encourages Israel to continue its "war of extermination" in Gaza.
REED BRODY, WAR CRIMES PROSECUTOR:
"Many thought this request would never come. ... Israeli leaders are finally facing a legal reckoning for their actions. Top Hamas officials likewise face justice for the cruel and inhuman taking of hostages and other crimes against humanity.
ICC warrants if approved would make Netanyahu a wanted man, in the same category as (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Omar al-Bashir of Sudan."
CZECH PRIME MINISTER PETR FIALA:
"The ICC Chief Prosecutor's proposal to issue an arrest warrant for the representatives of a democratically elected government together with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organisation is appalling and completely unacceptable.
"We must not forget that it was Hamas that attacked Israel in October and killed, injured and kidnapped thousands of innocent people. It was this completely unprovoked terrorist attack that led to the current war in Gaza and the suffering of civilians in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon."
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH:
"Victims of serious abuses in Israel and Palestine have faced a wall of impunity for decades. This principled first step by the prosecutor opens the door to those responsible for the atrocities committed in recent months to answer for their actions at a fair trial. ICC member countries should stand ready to resolutely protect the ICC's independence as hostile pressure is likely to increase while the ICC judges consider (prosecutor Karim) Khan's request."
(Editing by Ros Russell)
