Earlier on Monday, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor announced he was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, tying the victim and the perpetrator together when it comes to the October 7 attack that Hamas launched against our ally in the Middle East. President Joe Biden released a short statement not long after, calling it "outrageous" and making clear "there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas." Not all on the left hold that view, though, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is actually applauding the move.
Just as the ICC did, Sanders equated Israeli and Hamas leaders when praising the court.
"In the last several years, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for political leaders who violate international law and engage in war crimes and crimes against humanity," the statement begins. That includes Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose illegal invasion of Ukraine initiated the most destructive war in Europe since World War II; Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who started the horrific war in Gaza by launching a terrorist attack against Israel, which killed 1,200 innocent men, women, and children; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, in response, has waged an unprecedented war of destruction against the entire Palestinian people, which has killed or injured over 5 percent of the population."
From there, Sanders' statement leaves no doubt what he thinks of the ICC's decision. "The ICC prosecutor 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. Without these standards of decency and morality, this planet may rapidly descend into anarchy, never-ending wars, and barbarism," his statement concludes with.
It's particularly noteworthy that Sanders repeats pro-Hamas propaganda when it comes to the amount of people killed or injured in the region. Even Hamas admitted last month that the figures on casualties were inflated, and the increasingly anti-Israel United Nations also halved their casualty numbers more recently, though there's been evidence for months that such statistics are useless.
The ICC prosecutor is right to issue arrest warrants for political leaders who engage in war crimes.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 20, 2024
The global community must uphold international law.
Without these standards of decency & morality, the planet may rapidly descend into anarchy, never-ending wars, and barbarism. pic.twitter.com/KF7aD0JsHw
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), of the anti-Israel Squad, also released a statement. Although she herself acknowledges that the United States never joined the ICC, she still praises the body.
"The International Criminal Court must be allowed to conduct its work independently and without interference. The application for arrest warrants is merely the beginning of a judicial process. The ICC has been a functioning court – it has seen convictions, acquittals, and dismissals, as we would expect from an impartial and non-political judicial body," her statement reads early on.
In contrast to Sanders' mere mention of October 7, Omar makes more mention of the attack from that day, even as she's had problematic takes on the conflict from the start, which included calling for a ceasefire.
"I express my admiration and respect for the victims, survivors, and witnesses of the atrocities in Israel on October 7th and the victims, survivors, and witnesses of the war crimes that have and are taking place in Gaza who gave their testimony to the Prosecutor’s office. I am praying, for all of their sake, that true justice and not just violent revenge will be done," she notes.
Throughout the statement, Omar also seeks to tie the ICC to the Nuremberg trials.
Rep. Omar’s Statement on ICC Arrest Warrant Applications: pic.twitter.com/vOUOn2LXVG
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) May 20, 2024
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) holds a very contrasting view to Omar, however, and has called for sanctioning the ICC. A vote could come as soon as this week, per Axios.
Besides equating the victim and the perpetrator, the arrest warrants are problematic, given that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over Israel. There's also tremendous bias on display, given that the ICC's statement references "the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine."
As Spencer mentioned in his coverage about Biden's reaction, there's issues about jurisdiction, but also how the Biden administration has missed a real opportunity here:
This is ultimately another embarrassing case in which President Biden and his administration again failed to use America's (previously demonstrated) strength on the world stage to deter action deemed "outrageous" even by Biden.
The point Biden and the White House keep failing to explain is that there's no legitimate case to be brought against Israel by the International Criminal Court based on the ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statute.
As Townhall reported earlier this month as the White House faltered in its attempt to explain why the court doesn't have a case and can't bring one, the principle of complementarity at the heart of the Rome Statute means the ICC "is intended to complement, not to replace, national criminal systems; it prosecutes cases only when States do not, are unwilling, or unable to do so genuinely."
That is, it exists to prosecute crimes where there is not a robust judicial system to ensure accountability. Israel (along with and similar to the U.S.) has an independent judicial system that precludes the ICC from bringing a case.
There was chatter about such arrest warrants for weeks, furthering how the Biden administration truly missed an opportunity here when it comes to their supposed "ironclad" support for Israel which looks to be turning out to be anything but.
On Monday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent out a press release reminding how he and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) sent out a bipartisan letter to Biden earlier this month, urging him to act.
Rubio and Rosen also released a statement on Monday. "We are outraged by this shameful political move by the ICC, which seeks to undermine Israel as it defends itself after Hamas’s brutal October 7th terrorist attack. We’re deeply concerned about the impacts this decision will have on current hostage negotiations and the dangerous precedent this sets given that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel," the lawmakers said. "As we emphasized in our letter to President Biden, 'the President is granted broad authorities to respond to these types of actions by the ICC.' We now join together to call on him to take swift and forceful action in response to this attack on our democratic ally," they also reminded, calling on further action.
Biden thus also appears to be neglecting calls from members of his own party, further highlighting how Democrats are in disarray over supporting Israel.