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‘What a Joke!’ – Netanyahu rips ICC prosecutor for meeting Erdogan, Abbas

‘Only at the UN’ – International Criminal Court chief prosecutor meets with Turkey’s president and chief of the Palestinian Authority, drawing sharp criticism from Israeli premier facing arrest warrants from the ICC.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.

While Khan has already formally issued a request for international arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing both of war crimes in the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, Erdogan called on Khan to take additional steps against Israel, accusing the Jewish state of plotting to “add new massacres to their list.”

“It is extremely important for the genocide case filed against Israel at the International Criminal Court to be concluded and for the perpetrators of genocide to receive the punishment they deserve,” Erdogan told Khan, according to a statement issued by Erdogan’s office.

In a separate meeting, Abbas called on Khan to “expedite investigations into Israeli war crimes,” and urged steps be taken to prevent future “crimes against the Palestinian people.”

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Abbas and Erdogan, while taking aim at Khan for meeting with the two leaders.

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“Under the category of ‘This can only happen at the UN’,” Netanyahu said, highlighting Abbas’ past comments questioning the scope and nature of the Holocaust, and Turkish policies vis-a-vis the Kurdish minority.

“ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan met yesterday with two great champions of human rights – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, renowned for slaughtering Kurdish civilians and jailing journalists, and with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who denies the Holocaust and pays terrorists who murder Jews.”

“Rather than issuing arrest warrants for war crimes against Erdogan and Abbas, Khan remains obsessed with casting as war criminals Israel’s democratically elected leaders, who are pursuing a just war with just means against genocidal terrorists. What a joke!”