President Joe Biden and Congressional Republicans on Monday were united in their criticism of the International Criminal Court after its top prosecutor filed a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

What You Need To Know

  • The top prosecutor seeking warrants for the arrests of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the ongoing war in Gaza

  • President Joe Biden called the move “outrageous” in a statement, adding: “Whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas"

  • Republicans in the U.S. Senate, some of whom last month threatened to sanction the International Criminal Court should it target Israel, doubled down on that pledge on Monday

  • House Republicans agreed with their counterparts in the upper chamber, with Speaker Mike Johnson saying that "Congress is reviewing all options, including sanctions, to punish the ICC and ensure its leadership faces consequences if they proceed"

  • Democrats were somewhat split on the announcement, highlighting the divide in the party over the monthslong war in Gaza

Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, said he is seeking arrest warrants for leaders for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the ongoing war in Gaza.

Netanyahu called the allegations disgraceful and antisemitic, and other Israeli leaders — including those critical of the prime minister — condemned the comparison with Hamas.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the warrants a “complete moral failure,” adding: “We cannot accept the outrageous comparison between Netanyahu and Sinwar, between the leaders of Israel and the leaders of Hamas.” Benny Gantz, a member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet who has threatened to resign unless a new war plan is reached in a few weeks, said that “drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a blood-thirsty terror organisation is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy.”

“The prosecutor’s position to apply for arrest warrants is in itself a crime of historic proportion to be remembered for generations,” Gantz wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Israel is not a member of the ICC, but the warrants could provide troublesome should Netanyahu or Gallant travel abroad.

President Joe Biden called the move “outrageous” in a statement, adding: “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's top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, offered a similar condemnation, adding in a statement of his own: "We reject the Prosecutor’s equivalence of Israel with Hamas. It is shameful. Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and is still holding dozens of innocent people hostage, including Americans."

Republicans in the U.S. Senate, some of whom last month threatened to sanction the International Criminal Court should it target Israel, doubled down on that pledge on Monday.

“This outrageous decision is truly a slap in the face to the independent judiciary in Israel, which is renowned for their independence,” said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham on social media, adding: “I will feverishly work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle in both chambers to levy damning sanctions against the ICC.”

Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the decision “absurd.”

“The fact that the court applied for warrants for Hamas and Israeli officials at the same time provides a false moral equivalency between their actions,” Rich said, adding that the move has “have hurt the credibility of the court and seriously harmed legitimate accountability efforts where true war crimes are occurring, like Ukraine, Syria, and across Africa.”

“Equating Israel’s democratically elected leaders with the perpetrators of the worst attack on Jews since WWII shows what a farce the International Criminal Court is,” said Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton in a statement. “Mr. Khan’s kangaroo court has no jurisdiction in Israel to pursue these anti-Semitic and politically motivated ‘charges.’ My colleagues and I look forward to making sure neither Khan, his associates nor their families will ever set foot again in the United States.”

“To equate the Israeli Prime Minister with Hamas terrorists is truly despicable, and we should consider sanctions in response,” North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd wrote on X.

House Republicans agreed with their counterparts in the upper chamber, with Speaker Mike Johnson saying that "Congress is reviewing all options, including sanctions, to punish the ICC and ensure its leadership faces consequences if they proceed."

"Israel is fighting a just war for survival, and the ICC is attempting to equate Israeli officials to the evil terrorists who perpetrated the October 7th massacre," Johnson said in a statement.

“The International Criminal Court has no legitimate authority to infringe on the sovereign right of a democratic country to defend itself against terrorists,” Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr wrote on X.

“The United States must stand up for Israel’s inherent right of self-defense and immediately sanction ICC officials,” added Texas Rep. Jodey Arrington.

A group of House lawmakers — Texas Rep. Chip Roy, Florida Rep. Brian Mast and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik — earlier this month introduced a bill to impose sanctions on the ICC.

“America doesn't recognize the International Criminal Court, but the court sure as hell will recognize what happens when you target our allies,” said Mast.

“The ICC is an illegitimate court that equivocates a peaceful nation protecting its right to exist with radical terror groups that commit genocide,” added Stefanik, the House GOP Conference Chair, who is visiting Israel.

Democrats were somewhat split on the announcement, highlighting the divide in the party over the monthslong war in Gaza.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the ICC's request "shameful and unserious," while condemning the comparison between Israel and Hamas.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, who is Jewish, decried the body's announcement as "misguided and repugnant" and "a terrible overreach of the body’s authority."

"The ICC has no jurisdiction or standing in this matter, and this action will only serve to further jeopardize efforts to free the hostages, and to deliver a propaganda boost to Hamas," said Schiff, who is running for Senate. "The United States government will not waiver in its opposition to terrorist rule of Gaza, and support for the existence of the world’s only Jewish state."

New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, a staunch supporter of Israel, wrote on social media: “It is not justice but rather retribution against Israel for the original sin of existing as a Jewish State and the subsequent sin of defending itself amid the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.”

But Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, a former co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, wrote: “If Netanyahu comes to address Congress, I would be more than glad to show the ICC the way to the House floor to issue that warrant. Ditto for Hamas leader.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, another progressive, said that Khan "is right to take these actions."

"These arrest warrants may or may not be carried out, but it is imperative that the global community uphold international law," Sanders said in a statement. "Without these standards of decency and morality, this planet may rapidly descend into anarchy, never-ending wars, and barbarism."