Israel reacts in fury as ICC prosecutor seeks Netanyahu arrest warrant

Israel reacted with fury on Monday to the request by the International Criminal Court prosecutor for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The prosecutor's office said it was also seeking arrest warrants against three Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian Islamist movement's chief in Gaza and one of the architects of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The announcement drew a shocked defense from Israelis outraged at the parallel drawn between the prime minister and the Hamas leadership. Even Netanyahu's political enemies rallied around him.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid described the decision as a "disaster." Benny Gantz, a centrist former army general who joined Netanyahu's wartime unity government last year but who is the leading candidate to take over as prime minister, called it a "crime of historic proportions."



Reuters