Israeli Spox Blasts ‘Purely Political’ Gaza War Crime Allegations, ICC ‘Will Fail’
Israeli government spokesman Avi Hyman dismissed the International Criminal Court as having “little legitimacy” in the world and rejected its allegations of war crimes as “fully baseless” and “purely political.”
On Monday the ICC announced pursuit of arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Hamas leaders for war crimes.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced Monday that Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are being targeted for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The Israeli officials are accused of having systematically deprived civilians of essential supplies and that attacks on aid workers have further exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile three senior Hamas leaders are being pursued for their roles in the October 7 attacks on southern Israel relating to crimes including torture, murder and sexual violence.
Hyman appeared on TalkTV to tell host Julia Hartley-Brewer to criticise the move and said that Israel is “doing more than any army in history has done to avoid civilian casualties.”
The spokesman said: “Firstly, the court has no jurisdiction over us. This is a purely political decision, and it will fail. They have no jurisdiction over Israel. Israel’s not party to the ICC. America’s not party to the ICC. But let’s look at the substance. Israel has not broken international law. The British government has been clear about that. The Americans have been clear about that. And obviously, like the president said, there’s no genocide. In reality, Israel, on the total flip side – in a different universe, almost, from what Khan is saying.”
He continued: “Israel is actually flooding Gaza with humanitarian aid; there is no issue with humanitarian aid going into Gaza. Israel has one of the lowest, if not the lowest civilian to combatant ratio in the history of modern warfare, meaning we are doing our absolute utmost – more than any other army in history has done – to avoid civilian casualties.”
Turning his attention to the ICC and the allegations of war crimes, Hyman said: “All of the allegations against us are fully baseless, fully political because the ICC has very little legitimacy in the world. It has done very little in the 20 years that it’s existed. And now they’re pointing at Israel as a way to, I don’t know, impress their donors and make headlines. Well, it won’t work.”
He added: “Like my prime minister made it very, very clear: we will continue on with our war. We will destroy Hamas. We will bring home the hostages. And we will ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to us, whether this international body or other international bodies speak out against us, try and take action against us. We owe that to the children of Israel and to the children of Gaza to ensure that there’s a peaceful, better future for everyone in the region.”
