The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan has recently defended the arrest warrants for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister.
In an interview with the BBC’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, Khan emphasised that all countries must be held to the same standards regarding accusations of war crimes.
He said, "There's a difference of tone and I think of substance in relation to international law by the new government. And I think that's welcome."
Khan has also requested warrants for three Hamas leaders, two of whom have since been killed.
In an interview, Khan explained that warrants were requested for leaders from both Israel and Hamas to show the court’s fairness.
"If one had applied for warrants in relation to Israeli officials and not for Gaza, [some would] say: 'well, this is an obscenity' and, 'how on earth is that possible?'"he said.
Khan added, "You can't have one approach for countries where there's support, whether it's Nato support, European support [and] powerful countries behind you, and a different approach where you have clear jurisdiction."
He also revealed that some world leaders had urged him not to pursue the warrants.
Back in May, Khan said there were sufficient grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahiya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh were responsible for war crimes.
However, the ICC judges have yet to approve the warrants.
