Washington, DC – When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in front of the United States Congress earlier this year, the lawmakers stood up and clapped for him dozens of times.
Now that he is a formally suspected war criminal wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the adoration he received in Washington, DC, in July from US politicians is turning into anger and threats against the Hague-based tribunal.
ICC pre-trial judges issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for charges of using starvation as a method of warfare as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
The court found that there were reasonable grounds that the Israeli siege of Gaza “created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population”.
With a few exceptions, US politicians from both major parties expressed outrage at the court’s decision, with many questioning the court’s legitimacy.
White House ‘rejects’ warrants
The administration of President Joe Biden was quick to voice opposition to the ruling.
“We fundamentally reject the court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision.”
She did not identify the alleged errors.
The Biden administration raised eyebrows earlier this month when it said that Israel had not violated a deadline to allow humanitarian assistance to Gaza, contradicting the findings of top aid organisations.
Jean-Pierre also reiterated the US argument that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israeli officials because Israel is not a party to the court.
But the court has rejected that rationale, asserting that it has jurisdiction on the matter because Palestine – where the suspected crimes occurred – accepts the court’s authority.
US officials have previously argued that Palestinians do not have a state, and therefore cannot enter the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court. But Palestine, which joined the ICC in 2015, is a non-member observer state of the United Nations.
Asked about calls for sanctioning court officials, Jean-Pierre told reporters: “We are in consultation with our partners, which include Israel, about our next steps.”
A recent Brown University study found that the Biden administration spent $17.9bn on security assistance to Israel over the past year – funds that were vital to the US ally’s devastating war on Gaza.
Call for sanctions
While the outgoing Democratic administration rebuked the ICC, Republicans were even more forceful in condemning The Hague-based tribunal and demanding penalties against its officials.
Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, said it is time for the US government to sanction the ICC for its warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
The US House of Representatives passed a bill in June to impose sanctions on court officials, but the measure has not been considered by the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “needs to pass the 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.
In 2021, the Biden administration removed sanctions on ICC officials that had been imposed by Trump, who will be sworn in for a second term on January 20.
Stand with Israel. Sanction the ICC.
— Rep. Richard Hudson (@RepRichHudson) November 21, 2024
Incoming Trump aide warns of ‘strong response’
Congressman Mike Waltz, who is set to serve as Trump’s national security adviser, slammed the court over arrest warrants.
“The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the US government,” Waltz wrote in a social media post.
“Israel has lawfully defended its people [and] borders from genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC [and] UN come January.”
Senator threatens ICC with ‘Hague Invasion Act’
Sanctions are not enough for Tom Cotton, a Republican senator known for calling for the use of military force, even against domestic protesters.
Rebuking the ICC, Cotton invoked a US law that authorises the US president to use “all means necessary and appropriate” to free Americans or allied individuals detained at the request of the court.
Congress in 2002 passed the American Service-Members’ Protection Act, which is informally known as “The Hague Invasion Act” because it greenlights military force against the ICC.
“The ICC is a kangaroo court and Karim Khan is a deranged fanatic,” Cotton wrote in a social media post.
“Woe to him and anyone who tries to enforce these outlaw warrants.”
Democrats condemn court
As it often does, support for Israel – even against allegations of horrific war crimes – brought key figures from both major parties together.
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman used profanity and an Israeli flag emoji to make his views known. “No standing, relevance, or path. F*** that,” he wrote in a social media post.
Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz accused the ICC of “antisemitic double standard”, and Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen urged Biden to “use his authority to swiftly respond to this overreach”.
For his part, New York Congressman Ritchie Torres accused the ICC of criminalising self-defence.
Numerous rights groups have concluded that Israeli atrocities in Gaza, which UN experts have described as a genocide, are war crimes that do not fall under the right of self-defence.
“The ICC should be sanctioned not for enforcing the law but for distorting it beyond recognition,” Torres wrote in a social media post.
Tlaib hails ‘historic’ arrest warrants
The Palestinian American congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib, was a rare voice of dissent in welcoming the ICC’s decision.
Tlaib called on the Biden administration to end “complicity” in Israeli abuses.
“The International Criminal Court’s long overdue decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity signals that the days of the Israeli apartheid government operating with impunity are ending,” Tlaib said in a statement.
“Since this genocide began, the United States has provided more than $18bn in weapons to the Israeli government. The Biden Administration can no longer deny that those same US weapons have been used in countless war crimes.”
She added that Washington must immediately halt all arms transfers to the “Israeli apartheid regime”.
“Today’s historic arrest warrants cannot bring back the dead and displaced, but they are a major step towards holding war criminals accountable,” the congresswoman added.
My statement on the @IntlCrimCourt issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity: pic.twitter.com/C10EN1yy0q
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) November 21, 2024
Mayor says his city would arrest Netanyahu
Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, which has a large Arab American population, said the city would enforce the ICC warrants against Gallant and Netanyahu.
“Dearborn will arrest Netanyahu [and] Gallant if they step within Dearborn city limits,” Hammoud wrote in a social media post.
“Other cities should declare the same. Our president may not take action, but city leaders can ensure Netanyahu [and] other war criminals are not welcome to travel freely across these United States.”
The US does not recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction on its soil, so it is not clear whether its municipalities have the authority to arrest Netanyahu.
Still, Hammoud’s threat highlights the legal perils Netanyahu and Gallant will face across the world as formally accused war criminals.