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

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

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

“Taken in bad faith, the monstrous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal ridicule. It makes a mockery of the sacrifice of all those fighting for justice – from the Allied victory over the Nazis to today,” Herzog wrote.

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

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant now face arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court. (Reuters/Pool)

“The decision has effectively chosen the side of terror and evil over democracy and freedom, turning the legal system itself into a human shield for Hamas’ crimes against humanity,” he added. “This cynical exploitation of the international legal institutions reminds us once again of the need for true moral clarity in the face of an Iranian empire of evil that seeks to destabilize our region and the world and destroy the very institutions of the free world.”

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Israel made several efforts to block the ICC from approving the arrest warrants. They first argued that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel, but the court said it could issue arrest warrants as part of “Palestine’s territorial jurisdiction.”

Israel also raised other procedural challenges, but they were rejected.

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

The ICC’s move comes just days after Senate Majority Leader John Thune threatened to hit the court with sanctions if it went ahead with the arrest warrants.

Thune — who was tapped last week to be the next Senate majority leader when the GOP takes the upper chamber in January 2025 — warned that if the current Democratic leader doesn’t take on the international court, he will.

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“If the ICC and its prosecutors do not reverse their egregious and illegal actions to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli officials, the Senate should immediately pass sanctions legislation, as the House has already done on a bipartisan basis,” Thune wrote on X. “If Majority Leader Schumer does not act, The Senate Republican majority will stand with our key ally Israel and make this – and other supporting legislation – a top priority in the next Congress.”

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

The United States does not officially recognize the ICC’s authority, but this is not the first time Washington has tried to stop the court’s actions.

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In 2020, the Trump administration opposed the ICC’s attempt to investigate US soldiers and the CIA involved in the alleged war crimes between 2003-2004 “in secret detention facilities in Afghanistan,” and issued sanctions against ICC prosecutors.

President Biden’s administration lifted these sanctions shortly after taking office.