Biden Rejects ICC Warrants for Israeli Leaders
President Joe Biden has staunchly defended Israel against war crimes accusations from top international courts.
Biden’s defense follows Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), announcing his intention to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. “We outright reject the ICC’s warrants against Israeli leaders,” Biden stated at a Jewish American Heritage Month event on Monday, the same day Khan revealed his plans. The warrants also target Hamas leaders for similar crimes.
“There is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas,” Biden asserted. Earlier, he condemned the ICC’s actions as “outrageous.”
Simultaneously, Israel is under scrutiny for alleged genocide by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a case initiated by South Africa.
Biden disputed the genocide allegations. “The ICJ’s claims of genocide in Gaza are unfounded. We reject them,” he declared. In January, the ICJ had identified a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza, ordering Israel to take preventive measures. Despite the applause Biden received, his campaign has been challenged by pro-Palestinian protests across the US, with some critics calling him “Genocide Joe.”
The ICC prosecutor detailed charges against Netanyahu and Gallant, including “starvation of civilians” and “extermination,” with the investigation ongoing.
Khan also sought arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders – Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (Deif), and Ismail Haniyeh – for war crimes and crimes against humanity, such as extermination, murder, hostage-taking, torture, and sexual violence.
These charges were substantiated by evidence from a panel of experts, including international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
Clooney emphasized, “No conflict should be exempt from the law, and no perpetrator above the law.” US Republican lawmakers harshly criticized the ICC’s actions on Monday.
Senator Tom Cotton vowed, “My colleagues and I will ensure Khan, his associates, and their families never set foot in the United States.” The ICC, as the first permanent international war crimes court, requires its 124 member states to arrest wanted individuals if they enter a member state’s territory.
The US, not an ICC member, may pressure European allies, who are ICC signatories, to disregard the warrants, as reported by Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro from Washington, DC. Israel, China, and Russia are also not ICC members.
Reactions to the ICC’s announcement have been mixed.
Switzerland’s UN envoy Pascale Baeriswyl, addressing the UN Security Council, reaffirmed, “Switzerland fully supports the court and the importance of its independence.”
This action by the ICC, which previously issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023 for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, represents its first involvement in the Middle Eastern conflict.
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