How did American politicians react to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu?



The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and General Deif, commander of the Al-Qassam Military Brigades of Hamas , an Islamic fundamentalist organization that controls the Gaza Strip in Palestine. Many American politicians, who are not members of the ICC and have long supported Israel, are protesting the ICC's decision.

How US politicians responded to Netanyahu's ICC arrest warrant | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/21/how-us-politicians-responded-to-netanyahus-icc-arrest-warrant



On November 21, 2024 local time, the ICC's First Pre-Trial Chamber unanimously ruled to dismiss Israel's challenge to the ICC's 'assertion of jurisdiction over Israel' under Articles 18 and 19 of the Rome Statute . As a result, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Galant .

Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel's challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant | International Criminal Court
https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-rejects-state-israels-challenges



On the same day, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, commonly known as 'Deif,' who is known as the top commander of Hamas' Al-Qassam Military Brigades, 'for allegedly committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Israel and the Palestinian Territories since at least October 7, 2023.'

Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I issues warrant of arrest for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri (Deif) | International Criminal Court
https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-issues-warrant-arrest-mohammed-diab-ibrahim



With the issuance of the ICC arrest warrant, Prime Minister Netanyahu and others have officially become suspects of war crimes. Josep Borrell, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Policy of the European Union (EU), which is a member of the ICC, stated that the ICC arrest warrant is 'binding on all EU member states.' Italian Defense Minister Guido Crozetto also stated that 'If Prime Minister Netanyahu enters Italy, he must be arrested.' ICC member countries such as the UK and Canada have also commented that they will comply with the ICC arrest warrant.

Meanwhile, in the United States, which is not a member of the ICC, criticism of the ICC's decision has been raised. The Biden administration immediately voiced its opposition to the ICC's arrest warrant, with White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre saying, 'We fundamentally reject the ICC's issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli officials,' and 'We are deeply concerned by the ICC's hasty request for an arrest warrant and the troubling procedural errors that led to this decision.' Jean-Pierre also reiterated the US's previous assertion that 'the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel because Israel is not a member of the ICC.'

The Biden administration's National Security Council also said, 'The United States has stated clearly that the ICC has no jurisdiction over this matter. We are working with partners, including Israel, to discuss next steps.'

Senator Lindsey Graham, a well-known ally of President-elect Donald Trump, said of the ICC, which issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and others, 'It is time for the U.S. government to impose sanctions.' The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to impose sanctions on the ICC in June 2024, but the measure has yet to be debated in the Senate.

Congressman Mike Waltz, who is set to become National Security Advisor in the Trump administration, also posted on Twitter, claiming that the ICC's decision was wrong, saying, 'The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been denied by the U.S. government.'




Republican Senator Tom Cotton criticized the ICC's decision, citing the US Military Personnel Protection Act, which allows the US president to use 'all necessary and appropriate means' to free American or allied individuals held at the request of the ICC. The US Military Personnel Protection Act is also known as the 'Hague Invasion Act' (Hague is where the ICC is headquartered) because it authorizes the use of military force against the ICC. Cotton made some rather radical statements on his X account, saying, 'The ICC is a camouflage court and Karim Khan (the ICC's chief prosecutor who issued the arrest warrant) is a fanatic. He and anyone who tries to enforce this illegal warrant will suffer woe. Let me kindly remind them all. There's a reason why the US law on the ICC is known as the Hague Invasion Act.'




Democratic politicians have also criticized the ICC's decision, with Senator Jacky Rosen calling on President Biden to 'use his authority to swiftly address ICC overreach.' Representative Ritchie Torres criticized the ICC for treating self-defense as a war crime. However, Israel's atrocities in Gaza have been deemed 'genocide' by UN experts, and several human rights organizations have concluded that they are 'war crimes that fall outside the scope of the right of self-defense.'

Among US politicians, Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib spoke out in support of the ICC's decision, saying in a statement: 'The ICC's long-delayed decision to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity signals that the era of impunity for Israel's apartheid government is coming to an end.'




Abdullah Hammoud, mayor of Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit with a large Arab-American population, supported the ICC's issuance of arrest warrants, saying, 'Dearborn will arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant if they set foot within our city limits.'

The United States claims that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Palestine, but Palestine has a long and complicated history of requesting the ICC to investigate Israeli war crimes committed in the country. Because Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the ICC does not automatically have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute war crimes committed by Israeli government officials or Israeli citizens, regardless of their severity or how many other countries have referred them to the ICC. However, Palestine has been working long-term to have the ICC recognize that it has the legal jurisdiction necessary to prosecute war crimes committed by Israel in Palestine, and as of 2024, the ICC's jurisdiction is considered valid. In fact, the ICC issued the arrest warrant on the basis that Palestine recognizes the ICC's jurisdiction.



According to a new study from Brown University, the Biden administration has spent $17.9 billion on Israeli security assistance over the past year, which is believed to have provided a vital source of funding for the U.S. ally's invasion of Gaza.

When the ICC issued the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others, its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, issued an unusual warning, saying, 'We strongly insist that any attempts to obstruct, intimidate or improperly influence ICC officials must cease immediately.'

According to an independent investigation by The Guardian, Israel has been conducting a covert information war against the ICC for about 10 years. It appears that Israel has been using its intelligence agencies to spy on, hack, slander and threaten senior ICC officials in an attempt to sabotage the ICC's investigation in Palestine. Khan warned that this sabotage 'must be stopped immediately.'

Spying, hacking and intimidation: Israel's nine-year 'war' on the ICC exposed | Israel | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/28/spying-hacking-intimidation-israel-war-icc-exposed



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