US Mulls Sanctions Against International Criminal Court Over Arrest Warrants Against Israeli PM Netanyahu, Others

The United States is considering the possibility of imposing sanctions against the International Criminal Court over the arrest warrants issued against Israeli leaders.

The ICC on Thursday (21 November) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.

The warrants allege the leaders have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity amid the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

The White House said on Thursday that it was discussing "next steps" in consultation with its allies, including Israel, over the ICC move.

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has slammed the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants agains Netanyahu, saying that the Court "acted in the most absurd and irresponsible manner possible".

He added that the ICC move comes even as "there is a serious cloud of allegations hanging over the prosecutor who sought these warrants".

"The Court is a dangerous joke. It is now time for the U.S. Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible body. The Court defied every concept of fundamental fairness and legitimized a corrupt prosecutor’s actions," Graham said on X.

In a press briefing, when asked whether the Biden administration would support Senator Graham's sanction proposal, White House press secretary Karine Jeanne-Pierre said, "We fundamentally reject the court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israel officials.  We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision".

"The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter.  You’ve heard us say this before.  Whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no evidence — none — between Israel and Hamas.  There’s just none," she said.

"In coordination with partners, including Israel, we are discussing, certainly, those next steps, what that’s going to look like. And to your question about sanctions, that’s basically — kind of just answered it in that last — last part of what I said," the White House press secretary said.

"We are in consultation with our partners and also in- — which include Israel, about our next steps.  We fundamentally, fundamentally reject that the ICC has jurisdiction over the situation," she added.

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