Netanyahu vows: No ICC decision will undermine Israel’s basic right to self-defense against Hamas

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is currently probing the Hamas Oct. 7 attack against Israel, along with Israel’s military operations against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed, however, on Friday that no ruling by the ICC would impact Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas and other terrorist militias.

“Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the International Criminal Court in The Hague to undermine its basic right to defend itself,” Netanyahu stated.

The prime minister and other top Israeli leaders have repeatedly vowed to dismantle Hamas as a military and political power in Gaza to prevent the terror group from ever repeating a similar Oct. 7-type attack against Israel. Hamas' invasion and massacre led to the deaths of at least 1,200 Israeli men, women and children.

Netanyahu further warned that politicized decisions by the ICC could potentially threaten soldiers and political leaders of other Western democracies that fight terrorism, such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

“While decisions made by the court in The Hague will not affect Israel’s actions, they will set a dangerous precedent that threatens soldiers and public figures,” Netanyahu said.

U.S. and British military forces are currently engaged in battles against the Iranian-backed Houthi terror militia in Yemen, which has terrorized international shipping in the Red Sea for the past six months.

Jerusalem is reportedly concerned that the ICC could potentially issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and other top Israeli political and military leaders.

Last week, Israel's Channel 12 news reported that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) held an “emergency discussion” to address the potential legal threat from the ICC, although It is unclear whether the ICC has jurisdiction to rule on issues related to the war between Hamas and Israel.

Israel is not a member state of the ICC and does not recognize the court's jurisdiction. However, the Palestinian Authority (PA) was accepted as a member state in 2015 despite not being recognized as an independent state.

In October, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan unilaterally declared that he has jurisdiction to rule on the Gaza war. In December, Khan visited Israel and condemned Hamas for the Oct. 7 massacre, calling the attacks, "crimes that shock the conscience of humanity."

However, in recent months, Israel has increasingly faced growing worldwide accusations of genocide in Gaza, although the U.S., the UK, Germany and many other democracies have rejected these claims.

In January, the German government announced it would defend Israel against the genocide claim, which has been described by Israeli and Jewish leaders as a modern blood libel.