Legal Affairs
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) called the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek warrants for Israeli leaders “shocking and disgraceful.”
“The so-called ‘court’ has this all backwards,” said Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho).
The United Nations high court decision is a “gift to the murderers and rapists of Hamas,” human-rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky told JNS.
In addition to complicating Israel’s ability to strike multilateral agreements toward ending the war, rulings against Israel could spur the Security Council to demand a ceasefire, forcing Jerusalem to rely on a U.S. veto.
The prevailing assessment among Israeli officials is that the non-binding decision could come as soon as Thursday.
The ICC will lose its credibility if it pursues arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, said Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
“Of course. Yes, we abide by the law,” said a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman say the prosecutor’s allegations are without basis.
“Everybody forgot about what happened on Oct. 7 and talks only about the war,” an Italian lawmaker said.
The Arkansas Senator dismissed the allegations of atrocities, calling the charges “antisemitic and politically motivated.”
“To make a false equivalence between the actions of a democratically-elected government and those of Hamas—a brutal terrorist organization—is absurd,” the Jewish congressman said.
“We have great confidence in the Israeli judicial system’s ability to administer justice,” the eight U.S. senators stated.
