The tribunal is biased against Israel, and does not say a word about Iran and Syria

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the State of Israel is under attack tonight. The biased court in The Hague has made a decision that is the epitome of anti-Semitism and hypocrisy. It’s a war crime.

“The tribunal set up to prevent the recurrence of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jewish people is now turning against the state of the Jewish people. Of course not saying a word against Iran, Syria and other dictatorial regimes that commit real war crimes. For years we have worked with leaders and governments against this intent. “The court is biased in advance against the State of Israel. There is only one thing that can be done: to fight for the truth in all countries, on all stages and in all forums. To protect every soldier, every commander and citizen. And I promise you: we will fight for the truth until this scandalous decision is overturned.”

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said the decision was “an act of moral and legal bankruptcy. It is a political decision by a plaintiff at the end of her term, and an attempt to set priorities for her successor, who turn the tribunal into a tool by extremists and give backing to terrorist organizations and antisemitic bodies. “The murderous terrorist, Hamas, welcomes the decision, which is most indicative of its lack of moral validity.”

According to Ashkenazi, “Israel is a democratic state with an independent and effective legal system, which is not a member of the tribunal at all. The decision to open an investigation against Israel is beyond the tribunal’s mandate, and a waste of international community resources And not judicial. “

Gideon Sa’ar, chairman of Tikva Hadasha, also commented on the decision of the International Criminal Court in The Hague: The decision to investigate the world’s most moral army of the most threatened country in the world is a moral distortion. “

President Reuven Rivlin also referred to the decision, calling it a “scandal.” He added: “We will not accept the arguments against the realization of our right and duty to protect our citizens. The State of Israel is a strong, Jewish and democratic state, which knows how to defend itself and also investigate itself if necessary.

“We are proud of our soldiers, our sons and daughters, the flesh and blood of our country, who stand guard over their country generation after generation as a wall in a way against those who seek our evil. We will stand guard to ensure they do not harm the decision.”

The chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, Avigdor Lieberman, said that this was a “delusional decision by the court in The Hague, which cries out for hypocrisy and anti-Semitism. It’s an addictive game. “Instead of investigating Assad’s actions in Syria or Hamas in Gaza, they are challenging the right of the State of Israel to defend itself.”

The “right”, led by Naftali Bennett, also reacted to the decision of the tribunal in The Hague and called it “an antisemitic body immersed in hatred of Israel and encourages terrorism instead of fighting it.”

They said on the right that the decision “despises even the little respect left for this institution. While our enemies fire missiles, place explosives, stab and kill Israeli people – the court decides to investigate Israel instead of the child killers and suicide bombers. The IDF is the moral army in the world.” And will continue to be so. No Pike investigation will prevent the State of Israel from protecting its citizens. “

The head of the Kiryat Arba local council, Eliyahu Libman, said: “This is a hypocritical decision by a pro-Palestinian court that fills its mouth with everything related to killing children and women in Syria and Iraq, but recalls opening investigations into war crimes and baseless accusations against Jews returning to their homeland.

“We are proud of our historic right to live in Judea and Samaria in general and in the ancestral city of Kiryat Arba-Hebron in particular. The International Court of Justice does not scare us, on the contrary: it gives us more motivation to reach one million Jews in Judea and Samaria. The Jewish people went through the same hypocritical and lying court. We will go through that as well. “

The head of the Beit El Council, Shai Alon, said that “there are no words that can describe the hypocrisy in the decision. There is no connection between it and justice and morality. There are many innocent and good Israelis who died in terrible atrocities of Islamic terrorism, whose decision despises the memory.” “Doing more than just to protect the citizens of Israel with a minimum of harm to those who are not involved is a despicable and dangerous act.”

Earlier today, the outgoing prosecutor in the International Criminal Court, Pato Bensuda, announced the opening of An investigation into war crimes Carried out in Gaza and Judea and Samaria from 13 June 2014, shortly before the start of Operation Eitan.

“Under the Rome Statute, when a state appeals to the court on the grounds that there is a basis for opening an investigation, we are obliged to act,” Bensuda wrote. “The investigation will be conducted by the tribunal independently and objectively. The Convention obliges us to disclose all facts and evidence in order to reach those responsible.”

Basuda will end her term in the coming months – and the decision does not oblige the replacement of the British Karim Khan, who was Israel’s preferred candidate. Israel has acted in recent weeks in the political arena to put pressure on the plaintiff not to open an investigation, and there was hope that Basuda would leave the decision to a replacement who would take office in June. The assessment in Jerusalem is that Basuda would not have announced this without coordination with him.

“Investigations of this kind take time – and must be based on the law and facts,” she wrote in a foundation that emphasized that the preliminary investigations for the investigation took nearly five years. “We have no interest other than to meet our obligations under the Treaty of Rome and to maintain professional integrity.” However, she noted that the investigation may take time due to the corona crisis and the lack of resources of the tribunal. “Ultimately,” the chief prosecutor added, “we care for the victims on both sides who have fallen into a cycle of violence, despair and suffering.”