The International Criminal Court (ICC) is reportedly considering the possibility of issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior government officials. Members of Congress from both parties are cautioning that any arrest warrants issued for senior Israeli officials will trigger U.S. retaliation. Legislation to this effect is apparently already in progress.
The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, is responsible for investigating and prosecuting individuals accused of serious crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken the step of urging President Biden to intervene in order to assist in preventing the issuance of warrants.
Speaker Johnson urged the Biden administration to “immediately and unequivocally demand that the ICC stand down” and to “utilize every available tool to prevent such an abomination.” He joins several Republican lawmakers who have strongly criticized the ICC in recent days.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) informed Axios that he anticipates a House version of Sen. Tom Cotton's (R-Ark.) bill to sanction ICC officials engaged in investigating the U.S. and its allies. However, he added, “We hope it doesn't come to that.”
The ICC has been probing allegations of war crimes involving both the Israeli military and Palestinian militia groups dating back to 2014. While the White House refrained from commenting on Netanyahu's conversation with Biden, it emphasized that “the ICC has no jurisdiction in this situation, and we do not support its investigation.”
