US President Joe Biden on Thursday strongly criticised the International Criminal Court‘s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, labelling them “outrageous”.
Biden emphasised, “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas”. This followed the tribunal’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant regarding alleged war crimes.
“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security”, Biden further said.
The White House issued a separate statement expressing fundamental rejection of the arrest calls. A National Security Council spokesperson highlighted concerns about the prosecutor’s hasty warrant requests and procedural issues, whilst reiterating the US position that the ICC lacks jurisdiction.
Notably, the White House statement did not address the ICC warrant issued for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.
Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser under the future Trump administration, supported Israel and indicated plans for a firm response to perceived ICC and UN bias in January.
Waltz said on platform X, “The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the US government”.
Republican representatives broadly shared this sentiment, with some advocating for Senate sanctions against the ICC, which comprises 124 member nations obligated to execute arrest warrants.
Both the United States and Israel, non-members of the ICC, have dismissed its authority.
The Hague court announced the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, citing “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least October 8 2023 until at least May 20 2024”.
Additionally, a warrant was issued for Deif, whom Israeli sources claim died in a Gaza airstrike in July, though Hamas has not verified this information.