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US President Joe Biden claimed “what is happening in Gaza is not genocide” after an arrest warrant claimed by the International Criminal Court prosecutor for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Joe Biden labeled the warrant request as "outrageous," adding "whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence - none - between Israel and Hamas."
"What`s happening in Gaza is not genocide. We reject that," Mr Biden said at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House.
He asserted American aid for the ‘so called’ safety and security of Israelis is “ironclad”.
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan KC has pleaded for arrest warrants to be issued for Israel’s prime minister and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar over accused war crimes.
He is also demand arrest warrants for Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant - and other top Hamas leaders Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri, more commonly known as Deif (commander-in-chief of the military wing of Hamas, known as the al Qassam Brigades), and Ismail Haniyeh (head of Hamas`s political bureau).
Mr Netanyahu said: “As prime minister of Israel, I reject with disgust the Hague prosecutor’s comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas.
“With what audacity do you compare Hamas that murdered, burned, butchered, decapitated, raped and kidnapped our brothers and sisters and the IDF soldiers fighting a just war.”
“No pressure and no decision in any international forum will prevent us from striking those who seek to destroy us.”
In a statement, Mr Khan outlined the reasons his office was applying for the arrest warrants.
“Now, more than ever, we must collectively demonstrate that international humanitarian law, the foundational baseline for human conduct during conflict, applies to all individuals and applies equally across the situations addressed by my office and the court,” he said.
“This is how we will prove, tangibly, that the lives of all human beings have equal value.”
On the Hamas leaders, he said he has reasonable grounds to believe they “bear criminal responsibility” for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.
He outlined a list of alleged crimes, including murder, taking hostages and rape and other acts of sexual violence.
