President Joe Biden released a statement Monday calling the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders “outrageous.”
The International Criminal Court’s warrants target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders for actions since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan accused the Israeli and Hamas leaders of “war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel,” according to The Associated Press.
This is the first time the International Criminal Court has targeted a main leader of a U.S. ally, CNN reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Libyan dictator Moammar Ghadhafi, who died in 2011, faced ICC warrants in the past.
The criminal court’s decision “puts the post-second world war rules-based order to the test and presents new challenges for Israel’s western allies,” according to The Guardian.
How did Biden react to the ICC warrants?
Biden condemned the war crimes court’s Monday move that could draw parallels between Israel’s elected leaders and a terrorist organization.
“The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas,” the Biden administration’s statement read. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
Who else reacted to the ICC warrants?
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also called the decision “outrageous” Monday, according to The Hill. A statement from Graham via X, formerly called Twitter, called for the U.S. to levy sanctions against the International Criminal Court.
“This outrageous decision is truly a slap in the face to the independent judiciary in Israel, which is renowned for their independence,” Graham posted via X.
Graham also slammed the court’s investigation process, saying Khan rushed to announce the arrest warrants and was “drunk with self-importance,” The Hill reported.
What’s next?
Khan’s request for the warrants goes to a pre-trial chamber, where three judges will weigh the validity of the allegations, according to Reuters.
BBC reported that the war crimes court judges’ decision could take weeks or months.
Israel isn’t a member of the International Criminal Court, so the Israeli officials don’t face “immediate risk of prosecution,” according to The Associated Press. Still, the warrants could effect their travel abroad.
The charges against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh include “extermination, murder, taking of hostages, rape and sexual assault in detention,” according to CNN. Charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict,” Khan told CNN.