Ottawa says Canada respects independence of ICC, but rejects comparing Hamas and Israel [Video]

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada respects the independence of the International Criminal Court, after the ICC’s chief prosecutor requested warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defence Minister and senior members of Hamas.

But speaking to journalists in Ottawa Tuesday, Ms. Joly also said there was “no equivalency” between Hamas and Israel, “because one organization is a terrorist organization and the other one is a state.”

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan is pursuing arrest warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, Israel’s Defence Minister, as well as three senior Hamas figures: Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri – also known as Mohammed Deif – and Ismail Haniyeh, the Islamic militant group’s leader, who is based in Qatar.

In a statement, Mr. Khan said his office had “reasonable grounds” to believe that the Hamas leaders bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including …