U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security advisor on Thursday threatened the International Criminal Court with "a strong response" after the body formally
issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's former defense minister, and Hamas' military chief, accusing the three of grave war crimes.
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), a
vocal supporter of Israel's assault on Gaza, wrote on social media that the ICC "has no credibility," even though the court is recognized by 124 countries around the world—including Germany, the United Kingdom, and other major U.S. allies.
Waltz added that the ICC's "allegations have been refuted by the U.S. government," alluding to the Biden administration's widely rejected
assessment that Israel's conduct in Gaza has been lawful.
"Israel has lawfully defended its people and borders from genocidal terrorists," Waltz wrote, vowing that the Trump administration would take action against supposed "antisemitic bias" at the ICC and United Nations.
Waltz's response to the arrest warrants offered a glimpse of the hostile approach the incoming Trump administration and the Republican Congress intend to take toward international efforts to hold the Israeli government to account for war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip—many of which have been
carried out with U.S. weaponry.
"It is reasonable to expect that once Trump comes in, he will go after the ICC and the [International Court of Justice] in ways that profoundly damage the multilateral system,"
said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
"It is important to remember, however, that so did Biden," Parsi added.
After the ICC's chief prosecutor
filed his applications for arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant, and members of Hamas' leadership in May, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement questioning the legitimacy of the requests and reiterating the administration's view that the court "has no jurisdiction over this matter."
Blinken earlier this year also
signaled support for potential sanctions against the ICC, a punitive step that Republicans—including the incoming leader of the GOP Senate majority, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.)—have demanded.
Neither the U.S. nor Israel recognizes the ICC, but the court has said it has jurisdiction over Israeli actions in Gaza given that
Palestine is an ICC member. The Biden administration has been accused of hypocrisy on the issue of ICC jurisdiction given that it welcomed the court's arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As of this writing, the U.S. State Department has not responded to the ICC warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri. The department
canceled its daily press briefing for Thursday.
"The European Union and other major democratic powers should immediately put in place measures to protect the safety and integrity of the International Criminal Court and its staff."
Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said in a statement Thursday that the ICC's arrest warrants "are a milestone for justice and accountability, and just about the only thing that stands a chance of saving international law at a moment of U.S.-backed genocidal Israeli impunity."
"Every member state of the International Criminal Court—and even its erstwhile champions like the U.S.—has a duty to swiftly arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant at the first opportunity they get," said Whitson.
Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, DAWN's director of research for Israel-Palestine, added that "in light of the threats already made by President-elect Trump and existing U.S. legislation known as the '
Hague Invasion Act,' the European Union and other major democratic powers should immediately put in place measures to protect the safety and integrity of the International Criminal Court and its staff."
The ICC has
no police force of its own, making it reliant on member states to execute arrest warrants.
Josep Borrell, the European Union's top diplomat,
said Thursday that the ICC's warrants must "be respected and implemented."
"This decision is a binding decision on all state parties of the court, which includes all members of the European Union," Borrell added.
