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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that "Iran" would be one of the key issues on the agenda for his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, as well as a broader Israeli campaign against alleged "terrorism" in the West Bank and criticism of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Ahead of his departure, at the start of the weekly government meeting, Netanyahu said, "Tomorrow I will fly to Washington to meet, at his invitation, with President Trump, and afterwards to participate in the memorial service for a great friend of Israel, the late Senator Lindsey Graham. I will also discuss all pending issues with President Trump, including the situation in Iran." The remarks were shared in a post on X by the Prime Minister of Israel. Netanyahu said he would also attend the memorial service for Lindsey Graham, emphasising the late senator as "one of Israel's greatest friends since its inception, and it is fitting that we pay him this respect." On security operations in the West Bank, Netanyahu said the government's directives were "to enter the villages, sweep them, seize weapons, and make arrests". "These things have been done and are being done at this very moment. There is also an entry into the hospital in Nablus, where two accomplices were hiding. They were taken. The terrorist's home has been sealed in preparation for demolition. The homes of the other accomplices were also mapped out in preparation for action against them, and we are also prepared to operate on a broader scale against the terrorist nests," he said. Netanyahu also criticised the International Criminal Court, alleging that recent developments had exposed corruption within the institution. He said, "A third thing that has happened in recent days is a decision by a large majority of countries to depose the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. I think this exposed the fact that this man was not only accused of sexual harassment by several women who worked under him, which was the reason he cancelled his visit to Israel, took back what he said about Israel's legal system and the need to conduct a thorough review, and immediately moved to advance warrants against me and against former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant." "He [ICC prosecutor Karim Khan] did this to divert attention, to rally all of Israel's haters around him, naturally, to give himself a protective shield. This shield has now been torn apart, exposing his true motivation, the injustice, and the deep corruption that exists not only in the Prosecutor's office, but in the International Criminal Court as a whole," Netanyahu added. The Israeli PM also said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who reaffirmed Washington's intention to act against the ICC. "I spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last night, and he reiterated to me the US intention to act firmly against this organisation, which endangers justice in the world and also threatens the right of democratic, sovereign states to exercise their sovereignty and essentially attempts to subjugate their security to the decisions of a corrupt bureaucracy in The Hague," Netanyahu said. Calling it "a very positive development", Netanyahu added, "I think it is important that we echo this around the world." Karim Khan was officially removed from his position as the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday (July 24). Following an emergency session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the ICC's Assembly of States Parties voted by a majority of 82 out of 125 member states to dismiss him over allegations of serious sexual misconduct and breach of duty. (ANI)
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