Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his ‘war crimes’ in Gaza.
“It is now more apparent than ever that we must end all US military funding for the Israeli apartheid regime, and demand that President Biden facilitate an immediate, permanent ceasefire that includes a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians,” Tlaib said in a Tuesday statement.
Tlaib, citing unreliable Hamas-run Health Ministry numbers, blasted Netanyahu for the deaths of over 35,000 Arabs and denounced him for putting Gazans through “unimaginable human suffering.”
“I urge the ICC to swiftly issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials to finally hold them accountable for this genocide, as is obviously warranted by these well-documented violations of the Genocide Convention under international law.”
According to CNN, Tlaib’s accusations have been met with opposition from a group of 12 US senators, led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). In a letter to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, the senators warned that any actions against Israel’s leadership would result in “severe consequences,” arguing that the ICC is unfairly targeting Israel for taking “legitimate actions of self-defense against their Iranian-backed aggressors.”
“By issuing warrants, you would be calling into question the legitimacy of Israel’s laws, legal system, and democratic form of government,” the letter reads. “Issuing arrest warrants for the leaders of Israel would not only be unjustified, it would expose your organization’s hypocrisy and double standards.”
