Biden Calls ICC Prosecutor’s Application For Arrest Warrants Against Israel 'Outrageous'

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US President Joe Biden on Monday called the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders “outrageous” and promised that the United States will stand with Israel.

“The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Biden said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said that he had filed requests for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as for the leader of the Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ military wing head Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Masri and Hamas political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh.

Meanwhile, a senior Republican senator said on Monday that US lawmakers will work "feverishly" to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court over its decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“I will feverishly work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle in both chambers to levy damning sanctions against the ICC,” Senator Lindsey Graham, who is on Russia's list of extremists and terrorists, said via X.

Graham said the ICC was decision “outrageous," calling it is a slap in the face to the independent judiciary in Israel. He also emphasized that the US is not a member of the ICC.

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor announces applications for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant in the context of the situation in the State of Palestine, according to the ICC's tweet.

The ICC also… pic.twitter.com/0omMokPQNN

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Graham stressed that he and other US lawmakers had engaged with the ICC several weeks ago and received reassurance that the court would conduct discussions with Israel before taking any actions.

“Instead of the ICC following through with scheduled consultations with Israel, they announced the warrants. I feel that I was lied to and that my colleagues were lied to,” Graham said.

Twelve US senators, not including Graham, sent a letter to Khan earlier in May warning of severe sanctions if the court pursues arrest warrants against Israeli officials for their actions in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas launched a large-scale attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting some 240 others. Following the attack, Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 35,400 people have been killed so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said.