The news of the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s defence minister, has provoked divided politicians in both the US and Europe.
US Senator Bernie Sanders expressed support for International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s requests for arrest warrant for Israeli leaders and called on the US to respect international law. Sanders told the Senate floor on Tuesday night:
“The ICC as I see it is trying to uphold international law and minimum standards of decency. Our government should do no less.”
His remarks came after Khan on Monday applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and three leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Double standard policy towards the court
Sanders stated that when the ICC declared Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal last year, the US government welcomed the decision. He also added:
“Some have argued that it is unfair to compare the democratically elected head of the Israeli government to Putin…Yes, democratically elected officials can commit war crimes. The ICC is doing its job. We cannot only apply international law when it is convenient.”
He reminded senators that more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 80,000 wounded since the war between Israel and Hamas began on 7 October last year.
Stressing that Israel has the right to go after Hamas, Sanders said:
“But Netanyahu and his government do not have the right to wage an all-out war against the children, against the women, against the innocent people of Gaza. And for that, there must be consequences. What the ICC has done is important for the global community, in the sense that we cannot allow the human race to descend to barbarity.”
US critics of the court
However, Republican Senator Tom Cotton said Monday’s announcement shows that the ICC — which is tasked with investigating war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities — is “a farce”. Earlier, he wrote on X:
“My colleagues and I look forward to make sure neither Khan, his associates nor their families will ever set foot again in the United States.”
Meanwhile, the ICC prosecutor’s statement also showed the lack of unity among French politicians.
French left-wing spokesman Jean-Luc Mélenchon criticised on X Marine Le Pen’s statement on the issue:
“Le Pen condemned the ICC prosecutor’s demand for the prosecution of those responsible for the war in Israel and Palestine. She stated that there is no equivalence between war crimes. In her view, justice cannot be the same depending on who the perpetrator is. One can guess what this means in France.”
