The International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected challenges from Israel and issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday.
The ICC charged Netanyahu and Gallant with ‘crimes against humanity and war crimes,’ including using starvation as a method of warfare and targeting civilians. Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the move in a statement on Thursday.
‘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 till today,’ Herzog wrote.
Herzog argued that the ICC’s decision ignores Hamas’ use of human shields and its Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks that started the war, as well as the Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza.
‘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’ crimes against humanity,’ he added. ‘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.’
Israel made several efforts to block the ICC from approving the arrest warrants. They first argued that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel, but the court said it could issue the arrest warrants as part of the ‘territorial jurisdication of Palestine.’
Israel also made other procedural challenges, but they were rejected.
The ICC’s move comes just days after Senate Majority Leader-elect John Thune threatened to hit the court with sanctions if it moved forward with the arrest warrants.
Thune – who was selected last week to be the next Senate majority leader once the GOP takes the upper chamber come January 2025 – warned that if the current Democratic leader does not take on the international court, he will.
‘If the ICC and its prosecutor do not reverse their outrageous and unlawful actions to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli officials, the Senate should immediately pass sanctions legislation, as the House has already done on a bipartisan basis,’ Thune wrote on X. ‘If Majority Leader Schumer does not act, the Senate Republican majority will stand with our key ally Israel and make this – and other supportive legislation – a top priority in the next Congress.’
The U.S. does not officially recognize the ICC’s authority, but it is not the first time Washington has looked to halt the court’s actions.
In 2020, the Trump administration opposed attempts by the ICC to investigate U.S. soldiers and the CIA involved in alleged war crimes between 2003-2004 ‘in secret detention facilities in Afghanistan,’ and issued sanctions against ICC prosecutors.
President Biden’s administration undid those sanctions shortly after entering office.