The ICC deals mostly in war crimes. It exists only through willing participation of sovereign nations, and neither the U.S. nor Israel are members, but some other European nations who Israel counts as allies are members – and that creates uncertainty, The Associated Press reports.
The warrants come after Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor for ICC, filed an official request for them back in May.
The warrants claim that Netanyahu and Gallant, fired by Netanyahu earlier this month, used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and have intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s war against Hamas, which murdered more than 1,200 of its citizens last Oct. 7 and raped and kidnapped many more.
Netanyahu has rejected the warrants with “disgust” at the “absurd and false actions.”
Gallant issued a statement saying the court’s decision “sets a dangerous precedent against the right to self-defense and moral warfare and encourages murderous terrorism.”
The charges against Israel are completely unfounded, says Gary Bauer of Christians United for Israel. Israel, he points out, has gone out of its way to protect Palestinian civilians who are frequently used as human shields by Hamas.
“Israel is taking extraordinary steps to try to limit suffering, more so than has ever been done in previous wars. We didn’t try to feed the German people while we were fighting the German nation,” Bauer tells AFN.
The ICC is a rogue body that doesn’t hide its hate for Jews, Bauer argues. In his eyes, the biggest problem is ICC leaders face no accountability.
“The participants in international organizations like the World Court, like the bureaucracy at the United Nations, are beholden to no electorate. Nobody will judge them and vote them out of office. They can’t be voted out of office,” Bauer says.
Arrests unlikely but problems persist
It’s unlikely Netanyahu or Gallant would be arrested soon on any overseas visit. Member countries are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if the suspects visit their countries, but the court has no mechanism to enforce its demands.
For example, Russian President Vladimir Putin – wanted on an ICC warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine – recently visited Mongolia, a member state in the court but also a Russian ally. He was not arrested, AP reports.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, when asked about the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, reported President Joe Biden’s administration was “deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision.” And a White House National Security Council spokesperson added that the U.S. is discussing next steps with its partners, according to Reuters.
Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota), recently elected Majority Leader for the next session, says the U.S. “should repudiate the indictments.” Sen. Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) agrees.
“Netanyahu is a tremendous head of state as prime minister of Israel and is defending his people against an existential threat posed by Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah, and others who are committed to the complete elimination of Israel and the killing of Jews,” Smith said on Washington Watch Thursday.
A complex history exists between the U.S. and the ICC. Different presidents have shown varying levels of support through the years, Smith told show host Tony Perkins. He cited several recent administrations: President Bill Clinton viewed the ICC favorably, but President George W. Bush did not; Presidents Obama and Biden have had dialogue with the ICC, but Trump did not.
ICC looking into U.S. too
The U.S. is currently part of an on-going ICC investigation for events in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2014.
The U.S. has never ratified the Rome Statute, which founded the ICC in 2002, citing the very problems Israel faces right now – jurisdiction and political manipulation.
“The Senate has never come close to ratifying” U.S. membership in the ICC, and “the Department of Defense is against it for this very reason, that when a just war is being waged, the ICC stands there ready to indict a president or a prime minister. This is outrageous, and the administration needs to speak out boldly,” Smith offered.
France has implied that it would support the court’s wishes and arrest Netanyahu should he visit there. Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine called it a “complex legal issue” but said France supports the court’s actions.
“Combating impunity is our priority,” Lemoine said. “Our response will align with these principles,” AP reported.
Smith expects others will likely embrace France’s point of view.
“It looks awful, and it’s par for the course,” the GOP lawmaker said. “The European Union has been notorious for its siding with the PLO, then the PLA, and now Hamas. They’ve always had their finger on the scale against Israel. Much of that goes back to the very problems of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
“You would think that they would have learned by now that the killing of Jews, the extermination, the genocide of Jews will never again happen and Netanyahu has said it will never happen, especially on his watch. So, the European Union has failed again.”
