Joe Biden slams ‘outrageous’ ICC over arrest warrants

As Joe Biden attacked the ICC, the White House said it ‘fundamentally rejects’ the arrests warrants placed on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant attend a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv. Picture: AFP.

US President Joe Biden has slammed the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant as “outrageous,” as the White House ‘fundamentally rejected’ the call for arrests.

The ICC earlier today issued the arrest warrants, accusing the duo of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

In a statement, Mr Biden said: “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence -- none -- between Israel and Hamas.”

“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Mr Biden added.

In an earlier statement, the White House said it “fundamentally rejects” the calls for arrests.

“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision. The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter,” a National Security Council spokesperson said.

The statement made no mention of an ICC arrest warrant also issued for Mohammed Deif, the military chief of Hamas.

Mike Waltz, the incoming national security advisor under US president-elect Donald Trump’s administration, defended Israel and promised a “strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January.” “The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the US government,” Waltz said on social media platform X.

His comments reflected a wider outrage among Republicans, with some calling for the US Senate to sanction the ICC, which counts 124 national members who are in theory obliged to arrest individuals subject to warrants.

Neither the United States nor Israel is a member of the ICC and both have rejected its jurisdiction.

Earlier, Mr Netanyahu attacked the International Criminal Court as “anti-Semitic” over the decision, vowing it would not deter him from defending Israel.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also criticised the arrest warrants, accusing the court of rewarding “terrorism”.

The ICC’s warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant include the use of starvation as a weapon and directing attacks against civilians. The court said it didn’t find grounds for bringing a charge of extermination, a finding that would rule out charges approaching genocide..

“No outrageous anti-Israel decision will prevent us -- and it will not prevent me -- from continuing to defend our country in every way,” Mr Netanyahu said in a video statement. “We will not yield to pressure,” he vowed.

Earlier, Mr Netanyahu compared the ICC’s decision to “a modern-day Dreyfus trial”, referring to the infamous 19th century case in which French Jewish army captain Alfred Dreyfus was unfairly convicted of treason.

He said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions and accusations made against it”.

The judges were “driven by anti-Semitic hatred of Israel”, he said.

Mr Netanyahu also claimed the warrants were an attempt by ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan “to save himself from serious accusations of sexual harassment”. Mr Khan has denied the allegations.

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for former Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif,

who has been reported killed and who helped orchestrate the Oct. 7, massacre that left 1200 people dead and more than 240 taken hostage, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court’s prosecutor is continuing to gather information.

The ICC’s warrants for Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant, include the use of starvation as a weapon and directing attacks against civilians. The court said it didn’t find grounds for bringing a charge of extermination, a finding that would rule out charges approaching genocide.

The warrants pose a challenge for Israel’s efforts to rally support on the world stage, potentially putting Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant at risk of arrest if they travel to countries under ICC jurisdiction. The warrants also put the ICC’s reputation on the line, with the U.S. and Israel criticising it for investigating a democratic nation that was responding to an attack by a U.S.-designated terror organisation.

The White House has declared it won’t execute arrest warrants against Mr Netanyahu or Mr Gallant, with spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre telling reporters the ICC move a “flawed process.”

“In contrast to how [Chief ICC Prosecutor Karim Kahn] has treated others, including [Venezuelan President] Nicolas Maduro and his associates, the prosecutor failed to provide Israel with a meaningful opportunity to engage constructively and to properly consider its domestic processes,” she said.

“This calls into question the credibility of the prosecutor and his investigation.”

However Downing Street has confirmed Prime Minister Keir Starmer would respect the ICC’s ­jurisdiction once the warrant was ratified by a UK court. Under law, once the warrant has been ratified, Westminster has no option but to “endorse the warrant for execution in the United Kingdom”.

Israel invaded Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack. It has been criticised for the level of destruction, shortages of food, and a human toll of around 44,000, according to Palestinian health authorities, who don’t say how many were combatants.

The court’s prosecutor sought the warrants in May, drawing praise from many countries but sparking outrage from the Biden administration and much of the U.S. Congress, as well as officials in Israel. The full contents of the arrest warrants are classified as secret.

Several other Hamas leaders were also named in the ICC’s May application for warrants but they have since been killed by Israel. The ICC said Thursday that it withdrew the application for warrants for Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, who have been confirmed dead.

Mr Netanyahu’s office said it strongly rejected the court’s decision, calling it politically motivated, and said Israel wouldn’t retreat until all its war aims are achieved.

Israel has repeatedly said it has facilitated deliveries of food to Gaza and has complied with its obligations under international law. Leaders in the country criticised the warrants for ignoring Hamas’s culpability in the war.

“It ignores the basic fact that Israel was barbarically attacked and has the duty and right to defend its people,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “It ignores the fact that Israel is a vibrant democracy, acting under international humanitarian law, and going to great lengths to provide for the humanitarian needs of the civilian population.” A spokesperson for the US National Security Council said the court doesn’t have jurisdiction and said the US “fundamentally rejects” the decision.

“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” the spokesperson said.

Israel, like the US, isn’t a party to the Rome Statute, which puts countries under the ICC’s jurisdiction. But under its rules, the more than 120 states and other parties to the court are obliged to detain officials who face arrest warrants, putting many US and Israeli allies in a bind.

Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant could face the prospect of arrest if they visit any of those countries, which include many in Europe and Latin America, as well as Canada, Japan, South Korea and Australia. It could diminish Israel’s standing on the world stage by shrinking the spheres in which its officials can operate.

Adil Haque, a professor at New Jersey’s Rutgers University who focuses on the international law of armed conflict, said even flying over an ICC party state could be risky given the small chance of trouble that forces an emergency landing.

The foreign minister of the Netherlands and a French foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday their countries would enforce the warrants.

“The travel itineraries of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mr Gallant will be greatly circumscribed,” said David Scheffer, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues.

While parties to the statute are obliged to comply with arrest warrants, political considerations can present complicated choices, said Brian Finucane, a former attorney for the State Department and now a senior adviser at International Crisis Group. “It’s going to present the countries of Western Europe with a real conundrum,” he said.

Mongolia, an ICC member, hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in September despite an active arrest warrant against him by the court. The decision to welcome Putin drew criticism from human-rights advocates.

The warrants come as the ICC’s credibility is on the line. Issuing warrants against officials from a democratic country risks deepening criticism of the court in the U.S., where it has lurched between being seen as a threat in cases where U.S. soldiers or officials might be charged and an asset in addressing violence in countries like Sudan and Ukraine.

Many U.S. politicians and Israel had criticised ICC chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, earlier this year for moving ahead with a request for the warrants while his staff was still preparing for a week of meetings with Israeli officials to hear their explanation of the country’s conduct during the war. Mr Khan’s office has said it gave Israel ample opportunity to respond.

The court is bringing in outside investigators for a probe of Mr Khan over allegations he sexually harassed a colleague. The probe was launched after news reports said he behaved inappropriately with a woman who works in his office. Mr Khan denied any inappropriate behaviour and said he welcomed an investigation.

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan speaks to reporters. Picture: AFP.

An ICC pre-trial chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant are criminally responsible for perpetrating the targeting of civilians and using starvation as a method of warfare, which are war crimes, as well as crimes against humanity involving murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.

It also found that there were no reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli restrictions placed on humanitarian-relief operations in Gaza, which has resulted in a lack of food, water, electricity and medicine, were justifiable under international law. Dozens of people in Gaza have died from starvation and malnutrition, according to health officials there.

“The alleged crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza,” the court chamber found.

Yuval Shany, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem-based Israel Democracy Institute who served on the United Nations Human Rights Committee, said Israel has avenues to challenge the decision. It can contest whether the court has jurisdiction in this case. It can also claim that its own legal system is investigating the charges.

There is already a case before the country’s supreme court brought by Israeli nongovernmental organisations seeking to force the military to increase the amount of aid getting into Gaza, but Israel would need to show other steps such as opening a criminal investigation or state inquiry, Shany said.

If the charges against Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant are ever adjudicated, the court would have to work through tricky issues of the right of self-defence in the law of war and the rights of civilians under international humanitarian law, said Scheffer, the former U.S. ambassador.

The court in 2015 recognised a Palestinian state as a signatory, and in 2021 determined itself as having jurisdiction in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. A Palestinian state isn’t recognised by the U.S. or Israel.

The ICC is an independent tribunal, focused on individuals, located in The Hague. It is separate from the International Court of Justice, a U.N. tribunal that hears disputes between governments, which is hearing cases regarding Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and accusations brought by South Africa of Israel committing genocide in Gaza, which Israel vehemently denies.

Israel has already grown more isolated internationally. The arrest warrants could fuel that trend.

“It paints a narrative of a country that is not complying with international law, and therefore, it’s more legitimate to ostracise it,” Shany said.

Dow Jones