WASHINGTON: As the Israel-Hamas war rages on, US President Joe Biden has defended Israel’s position, saying its offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip was not “genocide”.
“Contrary to allegations made by the International Criminal Court (ICC), what’s happening in Gaza is not genocide. We reject that,” Biden said at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House.
“We reject the ICC’s application of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders. Whatever these warrants may imply, there’s no equivalence between Israel and Hamas. It’s clear, Israel wants to do all it can to ensure civilians’ protection,” Biden added.
The US president’s statement referred to the ICC prosecutor’s request seeking arrest warrants against top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes. Condemning the move, Biden also called the legal step “outrageous.”
“We stand with Israel to take out (Yahya) Sinwar (Hamas chief) and the rest of the butchers of Hamas. We want Hamas defeated. We’ll work to make that happen with Israel,” Biden added.
He also called the current situation of “innocent Palestinians who are suffering because of the war unleashed by Hamas” as “heartbreaking”. Biden said that his team is working to provide “critical humanitarian assistance” to them.
Earlier, the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement that he had reasonable grounds to believe the five men “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
A panel of pre-trial judges will determine whether the evidence supports the arrest warrants. But the court has no means to enforce such warrants, and its investigation into the Gaza war has been opposed by the United States and Israel.
“I reject with disgust the comparison of the prosecutor in the Hague between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas,” Netanyahu said, calling the move a “complete distortion of reality.”

  Gaza, Palestine, USA

Agencies