Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim A. A. Khan (L), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R)
A group of Republican senators has issued a stern warning to Karim Khan, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), over potential arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials.
The proposed warrants are reportedly connected to allegations of war crimes during the recent Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, is said to be nearing the decision despite Israel’s non-membership and non-recognition of the court. Since the Palestinian territories were admitted as a member state in 2015, the ICC has asserted jurisdiction over alleged war crimes committed by both Hamas and Israeli forces in Gaza.
Karim Khan, the ICC Chief Prosecutor, previously claimed that the court has the “authority” to investigate any such crimes and aims to hold those accountable who are found in violation of international law.
Prime Minister Netanyahu responded fiercely to the ICC’s potential move, condemning it as a grave misjudgment and a significant threat to Israel’s national security.
In a video statement released on Tuesday, Netanyahu accused the court of betraying its foundational principles:
“The International Criminal Court in The Hague is contemplating issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli government and military officials as war criminals,” Netanyahu stated.
“This would be an outrage of historic proportions. International bodies like the ICC arose in the wake of the Holocaust committed against the Jewish people. They were set up to prevent such horrors, to prevent future genocides. Yet now, the international court is trying to put Israel in the dark.”
“It’s trying to put us in the dark as we defend ourselves against genocidal terrorists and regimes like Iran, of course, that openly works to destroy the one and only Jewish state.”
Netanyahu praised the ethical conduct of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and highlighted their efforts to minimize civilian casualties, despite Hamas’s alleged use of human shields. He warned that labeling Israeli leaders and soldiers as war criminals would further stoke global anti-Semitism.
“Branding Israel’s leaders and soldiers as war criminals will pour jet fuel on the fires of anti-Semitism, those fires that are already raging on the campuses of America and across capitals around the world. It will also be the first time that a democratic country, fighting for its life according to the rules of war, is itself accused of war crimes.”
Reacting to the ICC’s actions, a group of Republican senators, including Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Budd (R-NC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Tim Scott (R-SC), have penned a threatening letter to the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor.
They argue that the ICC’s actions would illegitimately punish Israel for defending itself against Iranian-backed aggressions and inaccurately portray Israel’s military responses as equivalent to Hamas’s terrorism.
The letter explicitly threatens severe sanctions against Khan and the ICC, including ending all American support, should the warrants be issued.
Read the letter below:
“We write regarding the reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) may be considering issuing international arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. Such actions are illegitimate and lack legal basis, and if carried out will result in severe sanctions against you and your institution.
The ICC is attempting to punish Israel for taking legitimate actions of self-defense against their Iranian-backed aggressors. In fact, in your own words, you witnessed “scenes of calculated cruelty” conducted by Hamas in Israel following the October 7 attacks. These arrest warrants would align the ICC with the largest state sponsor of terrorism and its proxy. To be clear, there is no moral equivalence between Hamas’s terrorism and Israel’s justified response.
The ICC is also prohibited by its charter from proceeding in any case unless the relevant government is unwilling or unable to police themselves. You yourself have said that “Israel has trained lawyers who advise commanders and a robust system intended to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.” By issuing warrants, you would be calling into question the legitimacy of Israel’s laws, legal system, and democratic form of government.
Issuing arrest warrants for the leaders of Israel would not only be unjustified, it would expose your organization’s hypocrisy and double standards. Your office has not issued arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or any other Iranian official, Syrian President Bashar al Assad or any other Syrian official, or Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh or any other Hamas official. Nor have you issued an arrest warrant for the genocidal General Secretary of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, or any other Chinese official.
Finally, neither Israel nor the United States are members of the ICC and are therefore outside of your organization’s supposed jurisdiction. If you issue a warrant for the arrest of the Israeli leadership, we will interpret this not only as a threat to Israel’s sovereignty but to the sovereignty of the United States. Our country demonstrated in the American Service-Members’ Protection Act the lengths to which we will go to protect that sovereignty.
The United States will not tolerate politicized attacks by the ICC on our allies. Target Israel and we will target you. If you move forward with the measures indicated in the report, we will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States. You have been warned.”
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