Benjamin Netanyahu must go for there to be any hope of peace in the Middle East

Editorial: It may seem a remote prospect but Israel needs a leader who can make peace with the Palestinians, can bolster security in the face of threats from Iran and can rebuild alliances with regional neighbours. Netanyahu is not the man for the job

The Israeli prime minister and his supporters will no doubt be enraged by the actions of the International Criminal Court (AFP/Getty)

Even for a self-styled tough guy such as Benjamin Netanyahu, to find himself, potentially, the subject of an international arrest warrant for war crimes must be galling. To find himself and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, bracketed with the leaders of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, is presumably something that he could not have easily envisaged at the outset of the merciless war in Gaza.

The Israeli prime minister and his supporters will no doubt be enraged by the actions of the International Criminal Court (ICC), just as they were when South Africa’s claim against the Israeli government was found plausible enough to be considered by the UN-sponsored International Court of Justice. Soon, if there are proceedings, Mr Netanyhu’s name will follow those of Vladimir Putin, Slobodan Milosevic and Pol Pot into the annals of such international tribunals.

For the Israelis, the framing of a false legal and moral equivalence between the actions of democratic Israel and the terrorists of Hamas is deeply offensive. As they always argue, the atrocities committed by Hamas against civilians on 7 October were acts of terror and demanded a response; Israel has a right to defend itself.