After months of mounting tension, the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced the filing of arrest warrant requests relating to the war in Gaza — or as the ICC revealingly puts it, “the Situation in the State of Palestine.” The court seeks the arrest of Hamas leadership for a long list of war crimes, but the big news is that the ICC also wants to place Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in the dock. The prosecutor says that there is credible evidence to believe they are guilty of murder, intentionally targeting civilians, as well as starving them.
Although this bombshell was anticipated, it nevertheless exploded across the world stage. The State Department was quick to denounce the ICC’s “shameful” placing of Hamas and Israel on equal footing, while noting that the court “has no jurisdiction over this matter.” The ICC’s move couldn’t come at a worse time for the Biden administration, with the Democrats deeply divided over the war in Gaza in an election year. Meanwhile, House Republicans are contemplating sanctions against the ICC for its move to prosecute Netanyahu.
