ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas Chief in War Crimes Investigation

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has announced it is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. The move has sparked outrage from pro-Israel lawmakers in Congress, who are calling for consequences against the ICC.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has announced that he believes there are "reasonable grounds" to accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of "war crimes and crimes against humanity" in the Gaza strip. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan also said he is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, top Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, the head of Hamas's military wing, over the Palestinian liberation group's Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel.

The charges stem from an investigation into the 2014 Gaza war, in which more than 2,200 Palestinians and 73 Israelis were killed. The ICC alleges that Israeli forces committed war crimes by intentionally targeting civilians and using starvation as a method of warfare. The ICC also alleges that Hamas committed war crimes by firing rockets indiscriminately into civilian areas.

The ICC's decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Sinwar has sparked outrage from pro-Israel lawmakers in Congress, who are calling for consequences against the ICC. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., called the ICC's decision "a gift to terrorists around the globe and a slap in the face to the only free-standing democracy in the Middle East."

"There is no comparison between the deliberate killing, raping, and torturing of thousands of innocent civilians and those who are rightfully defending themselves against it," Emmer said.

Other lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., are calling for the U.S. to take action directly against the ICC. Johnson said Congress is "reviewing all options, including sanctions, to punish the ICC and ensure its leadership faces consequences if they proceed."

Waltz, meanwhile, suggested ICC officials should be banned from setting foot in the U.S.

"There is no legal or legislative basis for these charges," Waltz said. "Congressional Republicans will push to end American support for the ICC and bar their officials from entering our country."

The ICC's decision has also been criticized by the Biden administration. President Biden called the ICC's warrants against Israel "outrageous."

"We are deeply concerned by the ICC's decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Palestinian leaders," Biden said in a statement. "These actions are counterproductive to the cause of peace."

The ICC's investigation into the Gaza war has been ongoing for several years. The ICC is an independent international court that investigates and prosecutes individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.