After the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden called ICC’s move “outrageous”. Since the warrant also includes Israel’s former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas military Chief Mohammed Deif, Biden on Friday said that Israel and Hamas cannot be equated. The three are alleged to be part of war crimes and crimes against humanity. “The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” said Joe Biden’s official statement on November 22. It is the first time that leaders of a democracy and western-aligned state have been charged by the court, The Guardian reported. The US “fundamentally” rejects the court’s decision, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement. "The United States fundamentally rejects the Court's decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials. We remain deeply concerned by the Prosecutor's rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision," the spokesperson said, adding the US is discussing next steps with its partners, reported Reuters. The US has previously welcomed ICC war crimes warrants against Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials for atrocities committed in Ukraine, says The Guardian. Earlier in May, in a similar statement US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as Biden had criticised ICC’s application for the arrest warrants, along with raising questions over the court’s jurisdiction as well as its process in making this application. He added that it could jeopardise negotiations to achieve a hostage deal and a ceasefire.
