Israel not ‘akin’ to Hamas
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan justified his decision to request arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defence minister in an interview with a British newspaper published yesterday.
Khan said on Monday that he was seeking warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, as well as top Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohamed Deif, on suspicions of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
His announcement sparked the ire of Israel and its allies the United States and United Kingdom, all of which criticised Khan for putting together Hamas and Israel, which has carried out a relentless military campaign in Gaza since October 7.
“It’s a precarious moment internationally and if we don’t hold on to the law, we have nothing to cling onto,” Khan, who rarely speaks publicly, told the Sunday Times newspaper.
“I am not saying that Israel with its democracy and its supreme court is akin to Hamas, of course not,” Khan said in his interview.
“I couldn’t be clearer, Israel has every right to protect its population and to get the hostages back. But nobody has a licence to commit war crimes or crimes against humanity. The means define us,” Khan added.
LondonGBDESK//
Comments are closed.