US Rejects ICC Arrest Order, President Biden: We Will Always Support Israel

JAKARTA - The White House on Thursday said it " fundamentally rejected" the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

The ICC based in The Hague, Netherlands issued arrest warrants against PM Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri also known as Mohammed Deif on Thursday.

"Let me emphasize once again: whatever may be implied in the ICC, there is no equality between Israel and Hamas. We will always support Israel in countering threats to its security," US President Joe Biden said in his first statement responding to the ICC's decision, which he denounced as "outrageous," quoted from The Times of Israel November 22.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US would not carry out an arrest warrant, calling the ICC's move "a flawed process."

"Unlike the (Head Prosecutor of the ICC Karim Kahn) treating others, including (President of Venezuela examined) Nicolas Maduro and his colleagues, prosecutors failed to give Israel a meaningful chance to engage constructively and properly consider its domestic process," he said.

"This questions the prosecutor's credibility and his investigation," Jean-Pierre said.

The warrant effectively prohibits Netanyahu and Gallant from entering 124 ICC member states. Israel and the US themselves are known not to be members of the court.

Previously, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan had announced in May that his party was seeking the arrests of Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders who were later killed.

On Thursday, a White House National Security Council spokesman told The Times of Israel Washington was "deeply concerned by the prosecutor's busyness in requesting arrest warrants and disturbing process errors that led to this decision."

"The United States has made it clear the ICC has no jurisdiction on this matter," the spokesman said.

"In coordination with partners, including Israel, we are discussing the next steps," he added.