United States President Joe Biden has strongly criticised the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, calling the move “outrageous” in a statement on Thursday.
“Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas,” Biden stated after the ICC announced warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” he added.
Earlier, the White House released a statement rejecting the ICC’s actions outright. “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,” said a National Security Council spokesperson. The White House statement did not address the ICC’s warrant for Mohammed Deif, the military leader of Hamas.
Incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, under President-elect Donald Trump, also condemned the ICC. “The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the US government,” Waltz stated on the social media platform X. He promised a robust response to what he termed the “antisemitic bias” of the ICC and the United Nations, saying action would follow in January.
Outrage over the ICC’s move was not limited to the White House. Republican lawmakers have suggested sanctions against the ICC, emphasising the court’s lack of credibility. The ICC, which is headquartered in The Hague and has 124 member states, depends on these nations to execute arrest warrants, but neither the United States nor Israel is a member. Both countries have consistently rejected the court’s jurisdiction.
The ICC announced on Thursday that the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant pertain to alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed between 8 October 2023 and 20 May 2024. The court also issued a warrant for Deif, whom Israeli forces claimed was killed in a Gaza airstrike in July. However, Hamas has not confirmed his death.
