May 23, 2024

Manchin, Rounds Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Condemning ICC’s Arrest Warrants For Israeli Leadership

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Mike Rounds (R-SD), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

On May 20, 2024, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced applications for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders. The applications will be reviewed by the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber, which will decide whether to issue the warrants. The Pre-Trial Chamber can take anywhere between one month and one year to issue arrest warrants after reviewing applications.

“The International Criminal Court’s decision to charge Israeli leadership with war crimes is shocking and disgraceful. Israel is facing an existential threat in Hamas’s brutal terrorist agenda, and I have continued to support the country’s right to defend itself in a manner expected of a nation that abides by the law of armed conflict,” said Senator Manchin. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan resolution with Senator Rounds to condemn the ICC’s outrageous choice that equates Israel’s efforts to secure its homeland with the barbarism of Hamas, and I encourage all of my colleagues to join us.”

“It is unconscionable that the ICC prosecutor would seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders for defending against Hamas terrorists,” said Senator Rounds. “Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization while Israel is a democracy and ally of the United States that works hard to uphold international law. This action by the ICC prosecutor draws an equivalency that is devoid of reality. I am proud to lead my colleagues in this resolution that tells the world that we stand with Israel.”

Senators Manchin and Rounds were joined by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Bob Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Kennedy (R-LA), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Rick Scott (R-FL), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

The full text of the resolution is available here.