The US Congress may impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This statement was made by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson on the social network X.
“Congress is considering all options, including sanctions, to punish the ICC and ensure that its leadership faces consequences if they approve this. If the ICC is allowed to threaten Israel's leadership, our country's leadership will be next,” Johnson wrote.
According to him, this ICC “has no authority over Israel or the United States,” and therefore the decision of its prosecutor to seek an arrest warrant for Netanyahu “is illegitimate and deserves international condemnation.”
The ICC has no authority over Israel or the United States, and today’s baseless and illegitimate decision should face global condemnation. International bureaucrats cannot be allowed to use lawfare to usurp the authority of democratic nations that maintain the rule of law.…
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) May 20, 2024
It is worth noting that the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called on all countries to execute arrest warrants for Israeli leaders on the social network X.
“I take note of the decision of the ICC Prosecutor to request arrest warrants in Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court against Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. The ICC's mandate as an independent international institution is to prosecute the most serious crimes under international law. All states that have ratified the ICC statute are bound to execute the Court’s decisions,” Borrell wrote.
I take note of the decision of the ICC Prosecutor to apply for warrants of arrest before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. 1/2
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) May 20, 2024
