Biden says ICC war crimes arrest warrant ‘outrageous’

US President Joe Biden has called an International Criminal Court war crimes arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister “outrageous”.

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu’s now sacked defence minister Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas commander, Mohammed Deif, who Israel says was killed in July.

Judges said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe the three men bore “criminal responsibility” for crimes during the war between Israel and Hamas.

Europe and the US were split in their response to the warrant, with several European countries saying they respect ICC decisions. The British government said it respected the independence of the court.

“Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said in a statement, external. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

Both Israel and Hamas reject the allegations made by the ICC.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c704y7gwr95o