Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the Biden administration for not supporting sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the Israel-Hamas war.
“I’m surprised and disappointed, because I think it’s to the detriment, not just of Israel’s interest, I think… it’s… to the detriment of America’s interest, because Israel may be attacked first by the ICC, but you’re next. America is really the target,” Netanyahu said in a clip from an interview on SiriusXM’s “The Morgan Ortagus Show,” which airs Sunday.
The White House resisted a congressional sanctions proposal on Tuesday, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying the White House “does not believe” international court sanctions are “an effective or appropriate path forward.” ”.
“And… the terrorists who attack us and the crowds who support them in America shout: ‘Death to Israel, death to America,’” Netanyahu continued in the interview. “When this is supported by a rogue ICC prosecutor, it is in America’s interest, America’s security and our common values, to sanction the ICC.”
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan made requests for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, earlier this month.
Khan said Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for starvation as a method of warfare, intentionally targeting civilians, extermination and persecution, along with other war crimes.
Netanyahu expressed his displeasure with the ICC prosecutor’s decision to request the warrants multiple times and compared it to the prosecution of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II.
“I think these accusations are exactly what President Biden has called them, they are outrageous,” Netanyahu said in an interview on CNN’s “The Lead” with anchor Jake Tapper. “They are beyond outrageous. This is a dishonest prosecutor who has filed false charges and created false symmetries that are dangerous and false.”
The Hill reached out to the White House.
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