However, Congresswoman Tlaib hails arrest warrants; Dearborn mayor also backs ICC decision
Washington DC
US officials have opposed the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In its statement, the ICC said a pre-trial chamber had dismissed Israel’s challenges to the court’s jurisdiction and found “reasonable grounds” to hold the three men “criminally responsible.” The charges include allegations of murder, persecution, and starvation as methods of warfare.
Although Israel claims Deif was killed in a July airstrike, the ICC prosecutor’s office said it could not verify his status. For Deif, the chamber found “reasonable grounds” to hold him responsible for murder, extermination, torture, and sexual violence as crimes against humanity. Hamas has rejected the allegations, but welcomed the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, calling them a “historical precedent.”
Netanyahu condemned the ICC as “antisemitic” and said it sought to delegitimise Israel’s right to self-defence. “It’s a dark day in the history of humanity,” he said, adding the ICC had become “an enemy of humanity.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s administration voiced “fundamental” opposition to the warrants, calling the ICC’s decision an overreach.
“We fundamentally reject the court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. She cited “troubling process errors” leading to the warrants but did not specify the alleged issues.
Republicans went a step further, calling for sanctions against the Hague-based tribunal.
Senator Lindsey Graham urged Senate leaders to pass a sanctions bill already cleared by the House. “The Senate needs to pass this bipartisan legislation that came from the House sanctioning the Court for such an outrage, and President Biden needs to sign it,” Graham wrote in a social media post.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, known for hardline positions, suggested using military force under the American Service-Members’ Protection Act, informally called the “Hague Invasion Act.”
The 2021 removal of sanctions against ICC officials by Biden has been a point of contention for many conservatives. In the wake of the ICC’s recent actions, incoming Trump administration officials have also voiced strong opposition.
Congressman Mike Waltz, who will serve as Trump’s national security adviser, accused the ICC of antisemitic bias. “The ICC has no credibility,” he posted, condemning the warrants as a baseless attack on Israel’s right to defend itself.
