(Reuters) – The International Criminal Court prosecutor’s office said on Monday said it had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence minister and three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes.
Here are some reactions to the decision:
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.
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.”
YAIR LAPID, ISRAELI OPPOSITION LEADER
The decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is “a disaster”.
BEZALEL SMOTRICH, ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER
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.”
(Editing by Ros Russell, William Maclean)
