ICC rejects Israeli requests, issues arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant

The International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected Israel's challenges and issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday.

The ICC charged Netanyahu and Gallant with “crimes against humanity and war crimes,” including using starvation as a means of war and targeting civilians. Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the move in a statement on Thursday.

“If taken in bad faith, the bad decision at the ICC turned justice around the world into a mockery around the world. It made a mockery of the sacrifices of all those who fought for justice – from the victory of the Nazis to today,” Herzog wrote.

Herzog argued that the ICC decision ignores Hamas' use of human shields and its October 7, 2023 terrorist attack that started the war, as well as Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza.

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“Indeed, the decision chose the side of terrorism and evil instead of democracy and freedom, and turned the very justice system into a human shield for Hamas' crimes against humanity,” he added. “This misuse of international legal institutions reminds us again of the need for true moral clarity in the face of the evil regime of Iran that aims to destabilize our region and the entire world, and destroy the institutions of the free world.”

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Israel made several attempts to prevent the ICC from agreeing to the arrest. They initially argued that the ICC had no jurisdiction over Israel, but the court said it could issue arrest warrants as part of its “territorial jurisdiction over Palestine.”

Israel made other procedural challenges, but was rejected.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog criticized the ICC for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. (AP/Ben Curtis)

This move by the ICC comes a few days after Senate Majority Leader John Thune threatened to hit the court with sanctions if it goes ahead with the arrest warrants.

Thune – who was nominated last week to be the next Senate majority leader when the GOP enters the upper chamber in January 2025 – warned that if the current Democratic leader does not take on the international court, he will.

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“If the ICC and its prosecutor do not withdraw their outrageous and illegal actions to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli officials, the Senate should immediately pass sanctions legislation, as the House has already done bipartisanly,” Thune wrote in X. With Senior Leader Schumer doing nothing, the Senate Republican majority will stand with our key ally Israel and make this — and other supporting legislation — a priority for the next Congress. “

(Sen. John Thune, right, urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to take action against the ICC.)

The US does not formally accept the ICC's mandate, but this is not the first time Washington has looked to halt the court's actions.

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In 2020, the Trump administration opposed the ICC's efforts to investigate US military and CIA involvement. accused of war crimes between 2003-2004 in “secret detention facilities in Afghanistan,” and issued sanctions against ICC prosecutors.

President Biden's administration rescinded those sanctions shortly after taking office.