Joe Biden Defends Israel against ICC Arrest Warrants,” What’s happening in Gaza is not Genocide

United States President Joe Biden has taken the side of Israel against the ICC that initiated a war crimes prosecution against the Jewish state. This comes after ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan asked for trial attendance warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in the Gaza conflict.

Addressing a Jewish American Heritage Month at the White House, Biden strongly disowned and condemned the ICC’s activity. 

Besides the ICC’s war crimes charges, Israel is also on the edge of another genocide case that was taken before the International Court of Justice by South Africa. Biden also offered a counter to these claims. This is in contrast to the genocide allegation pegged at Israel by the International Court of Justice; this is not so according to him from his speech.

Back in January, ICJ had ruled that there were credible fears of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and, therefore, ordered Israel to provide restraining forces to stop this from happening.

The defence of Israel got a lot of claps from the audience at the White House event. But he has drawn condemnation from pro-Palestinian supporters across the US, and even ‘Genocide Joe’ has been chanted on the streets.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan also listed charges against Netanyahu and Gallant that include the “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare” and “extermination”, among other crimes. Notably, this does not mean that Khan has made conclusive decisions on these charges, but they remain in his investigation. He also applied for warrants for the arrest of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (also known as Deif) and Ismail Haniyeh for crimes committed during the hostilities – murder, taking hostages, torture, sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence.

A group of specialists and international human rights attorney Amal Clooney support this. In the same statement, Clooney also states the need to hold accountable for war conflicts, saying, “I do not accept that any war should be beyond the reach of justice nor that any leader should be above the justice of his actions.”

There are notable Republicans Members of the US legislature who have expressed bitter disdain for the work of the ICC. After Tom Cotton mentioned that “he and his colleagues are all excited to make sure neither Khan nor any of his associates nor their families have permission to enter the United States again”.

The first permanent international court for war crimes, the International Criminal Court (ICC), was established in 2003 in the Hague. Its mandate requires member states to request that their citizens or citizens wanted in their countries be arrested. The United States of America is not a signatory to the ICC but significantly influences states that have acceded to it, particularly in Europe. This leverage could be used to persuade the authorities to stop issuing warrants.

Reactions from other countries after the ICC president’s decision were mixed. As the UN Security Council demanded, Pascale Baeriswyl, Switzerland’s ambassador to the UN, supported the ICC’s freedom and independence.

The broad scope of the ICC, one of which is the arrest warrant of Vladimir Putin from the Russian government over the war crimes committed in Ukraine in 2023. But Monday’s announcement presents a distinctly new situation: Israel is now involved in the Middle East conflict for the first time and the first time to bring into it international law and diplomacy to facilitate a controversial decision.