Washington [US], May 21: US President Joe Biden said that Israel's military campaign in Gaza was not genocide, criticizing the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's request to arrest Israeli leaders.
"What is happening is not genocide," Mr. Biden said about the conflict that has taken place between Israel and Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip since October last year, during a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House. on May 20, according to AFP.
The US president's statement referred to another lawsuit at the United Nations' International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ accepted a case filed by South Africa alleging that Israel committed genocide during the war in Gaza.
But Mr. Biden also criticized the ICC, a court specializing in war crimes trials, saying Washington "opposed" ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan's efforts to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the defense minister. this country.
Earlier on May 20, Mr. Khan announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and officials as well as leading figures of the Hamas force, including Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh.
"No matter what these arrest requests imply, there is absolutely no equivalence between Israel and Hamas," Mr. Biden told attendees at the White House Rose Garden event.
The White House owner pledged that the US would continue to support Israel, and said "we stand side by side with Israel to destroy Sinwar and the remaining butchers of Hamas". The leader also vowed to rescue hostages held by Hamas during the attack in Israel on October 7, 2023 "no matter how difficult it is".
Mr. Biden showed support for Israel despite tensions between the two sides regarding Israel's military activities in Gaza. Washington recently decided to temporarily halt bomb deliveries to Israel in an effort to warn the country about a ground offensive in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the ICC prosecutor's move "could jeopardize" ceasefire negotiations to end the conflict in Gaza. "We object to the prosecutor's equating of Israel with Hamas. It is shameful," the statement said.
The White House declined to comment on whether the United States might take retaliatory action, including sanctions, against the ICC if it targets Israel.
In 2020, then-president Donald Trump's administration targeted the ICC with sanctions related to its investigation in Afghanistan, but the Biden administration later lifted the measures This.
However, Washington's ambivalent view of the court is reflected in the fact that it supports the ICC's efforts to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper