Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday lambasted the International Criminal Court at The Hague for ruling it has jurisdiction to open a war crimes investigation against Israel, calling such a probe "pure anti-Semitism."
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A three-judge panel at the ICC ruled Friday that Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem are within its jurisdiction, as "Palestine [is] a State party to the ICC Rome Statute."
Israel's foreign and justice ministries, meanwhile, vowed to defend all Israelis who come under legal attack from the ICC.
The United States on Friday night also objected to the ICC's decision.
"We have serious concerns about the ICC's attempts to exercise its jurisdiction over Israeli personnel. The United States has always taken the position that the court's jurisdiction should be reserved for countries that consent to it, or that are referred by the UN Security Council," it said.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted that "Israel is not a State Party to the Rome Statute. We will continue to uphold [US] President [Joe] Biden's strong commitment to Israel and its security, including opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly."
In an English-language video sent out by the Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu said adamantly: "When the ICC investigates Israel for fake war crimes, this is pure anti-Semitism."
Video: Prime Minister's Office
Netanyahu lamented that "the court established to prevent atrocities like the Nazi Holocaust against the Jewish people is now targeting the one state of the Jewish people."
He further asserted that the ICC is "outrageously" claiming "that when Jews live in our homeland, this is a war crime," a reference to the court potentially probing Israeli settlement policy in Judea and Samaria.
And, "[The ICC] claims that when democratic Israel defends itself against terrorists who murder our children, rocket our cities, we're committing another war crime."
"The ICC has again proved that it is a political body – not a judicial institution," Netanyahu said on Friday immediately following the decision. "The ICC ignores the real war crimes and instead pursues the State of Israel, a state with a strong democratic government that sanctifies the rule of law, and is not a member of the ICC.
"In this decision, the ICC violated the right of democracies to defend themselves against terrorism and played into the hands of those who undermine efforts to expand the circle of peace. We will continue to protect our citizens and soldiers in every way from legal persecution," the prime minister concluded.
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan also castigated the ICC's "political decision stained with anti-Semitism."
"It is not a coincidence that both Israel and the US are not members of this deformed body," he added.
"Israel is a democratic state with an independent judicial system, and the International Criminal Court has no authority to deliberate these issues and its interference only harms Israel's capability, as with other democratic states, to fight terrorism and defend its citizens."
Israeli officials will meet in the coming days to discuss strategy moving forward, including the possibility of a shift away from the current path of refusing to cooperate with the ICC, Foreign Ministry officials said.
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi called the decision one that "distorts the purpose of the ICC, which has become a political instrument for anti-Israel propaganda. This ruling rewards Palestinian terrorism and the PA's refusal to pursue negotiations with Israel."
Defense Minister Benny Gantz sent a letter to the IDF calling the ICC ruling against Israel "grave" and "unauthorized." Gantz asserted the decision is intended to serve as a tool for Israel's enemies and also vowed to shield troops from any repercussions.
"The defense establishment, together with the other state bodies, will act resolutely to prevent harm to IDF commanders and soldiers, and to members of the entire defense establishment," he said.
"The decision of the judges at The Hague is grave and has no basis in international law. The proceeding… is conducted without authority and is unfounded," Gantz wrote in the letter, addressed to the IDF Chief of Staff, IDF soldiers and commanders, the director-general of the Defense Ministry, and the upper echelon of Israel's security establishment.
For its part, the IDF released a statement vowing to continue defending Israeli citizens and backing its soldiers and commanders.
"The IDF has defended and will continue to defend, with determination, the State of Israel and its citizens in all areas, out of a full commitment to the spirit of the IDF, its values and the laws of the State of Israel and international law," the army said.
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman also slammed the decision, saying, "At a time when the entire world is dealing with the corona crisis, the ICC has found the time to wage its own war, seeking to undermine Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism. This is a delusional, outrageous decision."
The ICC's 2-1 decision has cleared the way for Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to open a war crimes probe into IDF actions.
Back in 2019, Bensouda argued that there was a "reasonable basis" to open a war crimes probe into Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip as well as Israeli settlement activity in Judea and Samaria, but as Israel is not a signatory of the Rome Statute from which The Hague draws its power, she asked the court to determine whether she has territorial jurisdiction before proceeding with the case.
The Palestinian Authority, which joined the court in 2015 with the explicit purpose of pushing action against Israel, welcomed the ruling.
The decision is a "historic day for the principle of accountability," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Nabil Shaath, a senior aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said the ruling proved that the Palestinians were right to go to the ICC.
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"This is good news, and the next step is to launch an official investigation into Israel's crimes against our people," he said.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and seeks Israel's destruction, said, "Any decision that contributes to supporting the rights of the Palestinian people and defends their freedom is an appropriate decision."
The terrorist organization added: "The Palestinian people await the day that the occupation and its leaders are brought to trial for their crimes against it. We call to use all means to stop Zionist terror and crimes against the Palestinian people.
