US Senate Majority Leader-elect Senator John Thune (R-SD) on Sunday threatened the International Criminal Court (ICC) with sanctions unless it reverses its pursuit of arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“If the ICC and its prosecutor do not reverse their outrageous and unlawful actions to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli officials, the Senate should immediately pass sanctions legislation, as the House has already done on a bipartisan basis,” Thune wrote in a post on social media site X.
“If Majority Leader Schumer does not act, the Senate Republican majority will stand with our key ally Israel and make this – and other supportive legislation – a top priority in the next Congress,” he added.
In May, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and several Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
In August, Khan pressed the pretrial chamber to issue an urgent decision, reaffirming that the court has jurisdiction to investigate Israeli citizens. More recently, he urged the judges to expedite the decision.
President Joe Biden condemned the ICC’s move, saying in a statement, "The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. And let me be clear: 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.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also denounced the ICC announcement at the time, and said he would “work with President Biden and members on all sides to keep support for Israel strong and unwavering.”
Neither Biden nor Schumer stated whether or how they planned to counter the ICC moves against Israel.
Thune was appointed Senate Republican Leader by a 29-24 vote last Wednesday, succeeding Mitch McConnell.
He later held a phone call with Netanyahu and wrote on X, “Spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to standing with Israel, our closest friend and ally.”