Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he rejected "with disgust" an application by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for his arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well as three top Hamas leaders on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"I reject with disgust The Hague prosecutor's comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas," Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to the city in the Netherlands where the court is based.
The prosecutor said he was seeking warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes including "wilful killing", "extermination and/or murder" and "starvation".
"With what audacity do you dare compare the monsters of Hamas to the soldiers of the IDF (Israeli army), the most moral army in the world?" Netanyahu said.
"This is like creating a moral equivalence after September 11 between President (George W) Bush and Osama bin Laden, or during World War II between FDR (Franklin D Roosevelt) and Hitler."
The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Palestinian militants also took 252 hostages during the attack, of whom 124 remain held in Gaza including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 35,562 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
- 'Historical disgrace' -
Israeli political leaders were united in their outrage at the ICC prosecutor's application to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz slammed the bid for an arrest warrant as a "historical disgrace" and a "scandalous decision" that amounted to "a frontal attack... on the victims of October 7".
Katz added that Israel would establish a special committee to fight the bid, and also embark on a diplomatic push against it.
In a separate statement, the foreign ministry said it was a "dark day" for the ICC.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the application showed that the "international judicial system is in danger of collapsing".
Netanyahu drew a link between the prosecutor's bid and weeks of protests on US university campuses against Israel's campaign in Gaza.
"This is exactly what the new anti-Semitism looks like, it has moved from the campuses in the West to the court in The Hague."
Netanyahu also launched a tirade against Khan, saying the prosecutor was setting a "dangerous precedent" that undermined any democratic country's right to defend itself against "terror organisations".
"He is callously pouring gasoline on the fires of antisemitism," he said.
"Through this incendiary decision, Mr Khan takes his place among the great antisemites in modern times."
Israeli people also expressed indignation.
"Obviously, it's absurd," said Benjamin, a 28-year-old architect who declined to give his last name. "There's so many crimes around the world... it's really outrageous that they're coming after us."
Netanyahu vowed to continue the campaign in Gaza nevertheless.
"I pledge that no pressure and no decision in any international forum will prevent us from striking those who seek to destroy us," he said.
"We will overthrow the evil rule of Hamas and achieve complete victory."