Israel had on Monday, reacted with outrage to the request by the International Criminal Court prosecutor for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The prosecutor’s office had said it was also looking to obtain arrest warrants against three Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian Islamist movement’s chief in Gaza and one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack on Israel.
This announcement came as a shock to Israelis who were outraged at the parallel drawn between the prime minister and the Hamas leadership. Netanyahu’s political enemies had surprisingly, rallied around him too.
Netanyahu is so far, Israel’s longest serving prime minister and under his reign, he has seen his popularity plummet since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
Several Israelis have blamed him for the security failures that allowed the Hamas riot to occur, and also, accused him of failing to do enough to rescue about 130 Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
For a lot of Israelis, the possibility of warrants being issued against the prime minister was seen as an attack on the whole country and indicative of the mounting hostility Israel has been facing globally.
What This Means
The International Criminal Court wants to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza. This has angered many in Israel because it puts Netanyahu in the same category as Hamas leaders. Even Netanyahu’s political opponents are supporting him. Netanyahu’s popularity has dropped because of security problems, like the recent conflict in Gaza, and criticism that he didn’t do enough to save Israeli hostages. Many in Israel see this as the world turning against them.
