ICC Prosecutor's move against Netanyahu and Gallant is 'scandalous', Israel minister says

Israel’s foreign minister said on Monday a request by the International Criminal Court Prosecutor for arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defence minister was “scandalous”, Reuters reports.

ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, is seeking warrants for Israel’s Netanyahu, Gallant and three leaders of the Palestinian group, Hamas, over alleged war crimes. A panel of pre-trial judges will determine whether the evidence supports his request.

Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, said he had opened a special war room within the Foreign Ministry to counteract the ICC Prosecutor’s move.

Katz, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, said the war room would work to combat the move, which he said he believed was aimed at tying Israel’s hands and preventing it from exercising its “right to self-defence”.

“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,” Katz said.

READ: What is the International Criminal Court?