Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday harshly criticized the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes.

“This is a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity. Taken in bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughingstock. It makes a mockery of the sacrifice of all those who fight for justice—from the Allied victory over the Nazis until today,” said Herzog.

“It ignores the plight of the 101 Israeli hostages held in brutal captivity by Hamas in Gaza. It ignores Hamas’s cynical use of its own people as human shields. It ignores the basic fact that Israel was barbarically attacked and has the duty and right to defend its people. It ignores the fact that Israel is a vibrant democracy, acting under international humanitarian law and going to great lengths to provide for the humanitarian needs of the civilian population,” continued the president.

“Indeed, the decision has chosen the side of terror and evil over democracy and freedom, and turned the very system of justice into a human shield for Hamas’s crimes against humanity.

“This cynical exploitation of the international legal institutions reminds us once again of the need for true moral clarity in the face of an Iranian empire of evil that seeks to destabilize our region and the world, and destroy the very institutions of the free world.”