'Simply no moral equivalence between Israel & Hamas': SAZF reacts to ICC arrest warrant bids
The South African Zionist Federation said that the ICC's arrest warrant application for top Israeli leaders was offensive to the memories of murdered Israelis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads the weekly cabinet meeting at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv on 7 January 2024. Picture: RONEN ZVULUN / POOL / AFP
CAPE TOWN - The South African Zionist Federation said that the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s arrest warrant application for top Israeli leaders was offensive to the memories of murdered Israelis.
More than 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas in an unprecedented attack on Israel last October.
The continued bombardment of Gaza by Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians.
ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, has applied for arrest warrants for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He's also applied for arrest warrants for three senior Hamas leaders believed to be criminally responsible for the killings of Israeli civilians.
SA Zionist Federation spokesperson, Rolene Marks, has called on the international community to reject what she called a politically motivated decison by the ICC's prosecutor.
"There is simply no moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas. To include, in a single application, the names of three leaders of a terrorist organisation alongside those of democratically elected leaders who make difficult decisions regarding the safety of their country, is to make a mockery of the concepts 'war crimes' and 'crimes against humanity.'"