The news about the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the arrest of Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu, and Yoav Galant, until recently the Minister of Defense, for alleged war crimes, caused fierce reactions in Israel.
Netanyahu called the court's decision "anti-Semitic" and claimed that they were "falsely accused of deliberately targeting civilians, when we are doing everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties."
He also said that Israel does not recognize the decision of the ICC.
Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, called it "a dark day for justice and humanity," adding that the decision "chosen the side of terror and evil over democracy and freedom."
Julius Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) foreign affairs and defense committee, called it "a shameful decision by a body politic captured by Islamist interests."
Israel's foreign minister said that the ICC has lost its legitimacy.
US President Joseph Biden joined the chorus of condemnations of the court's decision, calling it "outrageous".
"Whatever the ICC may imply, there is no sign of equality between Israel and Hamas," Biden said.
"We will always be with Israel," he added.
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Palestinians are happy
Unlike Israel, the court's decision was welcomed by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the residents of Gaza.
Hamas has not commented on the warrant for its military commander, Muhammad Deif, whom Israel said it killed in July.
"We call on all countries around the world to cooperate with the court in bringing the Zionist war criminals, Netanyahu and Galant, to justice and to work immediately to stop the genocide against defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip," the group said in a statement.
The decision was also welcomed by the Palestinians, residents of Gaza.
"They are terrorizing us, starving us, our houses were destroyed, we lost our children and loved ones.
"We welcome the decision and hope it will be implemented," said Muhammad Ali, 40 years old.
Ali left Gaza City and is currently in the central area of Deir al-Balah.
Munira Al-Shami, whose sister was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024, says this is "justice for tens of thousands of victims, including her sister Wafu."
Netanyahu, however, rejects the court's accusations and claims that Israel actually cares about the residents of Gaza.
"The court in The Hague accuses us of a deliberate policy of starvation, and we delivered 700.000 tons of food to feed the people of Gaza," said the Israeli prime minister.
"While we publish millions of text messages, send leaflets to the people of Gaza to warn them to avoid danger, Hamas terrorists are abusing them, using them as human shields and even shooting them," Netanyahu claimed.
What effects will these arrest warrants have?
States parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC are obliged to detain these people if they have the opportunity to do so.
These 124 countries do not include Russia, China, the USA and Israel.
This practically means that if Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, and Galant set foot in any of the signatory countries, they must be arrested or brought to court.
However, international lawyers doubt that any of them will ever be brought to The Hague for trial.
Netanyahu was last outside Israel in July 2024 when he was in the USA, and now he could visit that country without any consequences.
Last year, he visited several countries, including Great Britain, among them many signatories of the Rome Statute of the ICC.
The probability that the Israeli prime minister would want to risk arrest and visit all those countries again is small, and it is assumed that the countries in question would not be willing to find themselves in such a situation.
Hamas should not fear the ICC's arrest warrant for Muhammad Deif.
Israel believes it is Deif killed in mid-July 2024, although Hamas has never confirmed this.
Jahja Sinvar and Ismail Hanije, whom the ICC originally planned to prosecute, are dead, which was confirmed.
There is no doubt that this is a big blow to the international standing of Israel, two of its officials, and will especially harm its ongoing efforts to present the military campaign in Gaza as a struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil.
Israelis are appalled that, in their eyes, the world seems to have already forgotten or overlooked the crimes committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
The Palestinians, especially the residents of Gaza, feel satisfied that their accusations of Israeli war crimes have now been echoed in the form of a decision by an international body that carries some weight.
The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court issued back in May 2024 order for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of Hamas in Gaza for war crimes.
Karim Khan then said that there are reasonable doubts that both of them have criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity from October 7, 2023.
Yoav Galant, Israel's defense minister at the time, and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, as well as its military chief Muhammad Deif, were also on the arrest list.
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