TEL AVIV, November 21. /TASS/. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has lost all legitimacy after issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said.

"A dark moment for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, in which it lost all legitimacy for its existence and activity. It acted as a political tool in the service of the most extreme terrorists working to undermine peace, security, and stability in the Middle East," the top diplomat wrote on his X page.

Sa'ar slammed the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant "absurd." According to him, the ICC "issued unauthorized warrants" because Israel is not a member of the court. "These warrants are not merely personal attacks against them; in essence, they are an assault on Israel’s right to defend itself. This is an attack on the most threatened and targeted nation in the world - also the only country in the region openly called for and acted against by other nations seeking its elimination," the minister emphasized.

In his assessment, in terms of morality, this ICC decision "represents a moral eclipse that turns good into evil." "Decent nations and every moral person in the world must unequivocally reject this injustice," the top diplomat stressed.

Earlier, the ICC announced the issuance of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, who was sacked in early November, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Palestine. The court's statement noted that the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber unanimously issued two decisions rejecting Israeli objections.