Palestinian Hamas announced today that it strongly condemns the request of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants against the organization's leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed since October 7.
Hamas condemns "the attempts of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to equate the victim with the executioner by issuing arrest warrants against a number of leaders of the Palestinian resistance," the Islamist organization said in a statement, as reported by France Press.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the prosecutor's decision emboldens Israel to continue its "war of extermination."
Wasel Abu Yousef from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) assessed that there is confusion about who is the victim and that "the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves" and that "the ICC is being asked to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials who commit crimes of genocide in The Gaza Strip."
Hamas leaders and officials Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad Deif and Ismail Haniyeh are wanted for crimes of extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape, sexual assault and torture, the agencies report.
Hamas and other extremist organizations in Gaza are believed to still be holding 129 hostages out of about 250 abducted during a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year.
About 1.200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in that attack.
In the ensuing Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip, more than 35.500 Palestinians were killed, and Israel says 282 Israeli soldiers were killed.
The balance of victims in this war cannot, however, be independently confirmed.
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