Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a member of the “Squad,” called for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials in Israel for violations of the Genocide Convention under international law. Tlaib linked the U.S. to the attack on Rafah due to the funding it provided, accusing Israeli forces of killing over 35,000 Palestinians and displacing families in Rafah, leading to unimaginable human suffering for over 1.5 million Palestinian civilians, including children. She criticized her colleagues for providing weapons to Netanyahu to carry out the attack despite their apparent concern over the “crimes against humanity” in Rafah. Tlaib called for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, urging the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials.
While Tlaib called for action against Israeli officials, 12 U.S. senators warned the prosecutor for the ICC that any actions taken against Netanyahu and other Israeli officials would result in severe sanctions. The senators claimed that the arrest warrants lacked legal basis and would be illegitimate, arguing that the ICC would be aligning itself with Iran and Hamas by punishing Israel for taking legitimate actions of self-defense against Iranian-backed aggressors. They advised the ICC that any action against Israel’s leaders would call into question the legitimacy of Israel’s laws, legal system, and democratic form of government, exposing the organization’s hypocrisy and double standards.
The senators reminded the ICC prosecutor that neither the U.S. nor Israel are members of the ICC, and any action taken against them is outside the organization’s jurisdiction. They warned that targeting Israel’s leadership would also be seen as a threat to the sovereignty of the United States, and any action against either country would result in the end of all American support for the ICC, sanctions on ICC employees and associates, and barring the prosecutor and his family from entering the U.S. The senators emphasized that the U.S. would not tolerate politicized attacks on its allies and would retaliate against any action taken by the ICC against Israel.
Tlaib’s office did not respond to requests for comments on whether Hamas leaders responsible for atrocities in Israel should also be held accountable and arrested. The press release from Tlaib also included accusations against Israeli forces for genocide in Rafah, claiming that Netanyahu will only stay in power as long as fighting continues, and calling for an end to all U.S. military funding for the Israeli apartheid regime. Tlaib’s statement urged President Biden to facilitate an immediate, permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, as well as the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians.
In response to Tlaib’s call for action against Israeli officials, the senators argued that the ICC is prohibited from proceeding in any case unless the relevant government is willing or unable to police themselves. They cautioned the ICC prosecutor against issuing arrest warrants for Israel’s leaders, stating that it would be unjustified and expose the organization’s hypocrisy and double standards. The senators emphasized that there is no moral equivalence between Hamas’s terrorism and Israel’s justified response to defend itself against Iranian-backed aggressors and warned of severe consequences if any action is taken against Israel or the U.S. by the ICC.
