Pentagon 'fundamentally rejects' ICC decision to issue arrest warrant for Netanyahu

The Pentagon said it rejects the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters in a briefing Thursday that the United States “fundamentally rejects” the ICC's decision to issue arrest warrants.

“We remain concerned about the prosecutor's rush to seek arrest warrants and, you know, some of the processes that have taken place,” Singh said. “And again, we have been very clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter.”

The ICC has accused Netanyahu and Gallant of “crimes against humanity and war crimes,” including using starvation as a method of warfare and targeting civilians.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, speaks to former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left, at the opening of the 25th Knesset session marking the anniversary of the War of the Iron Swords », in Jerusalem, October 28. (Debbie Hill/Pool photo via AP)

President Biden blasted the court's decision to issue arrest warrants for the two senior Israeli officials.

“The ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders is outrageous,” Biden said. “Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC may suggest, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats on his safety.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the court's actions in a statement released Thursday.

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People inspect a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, November 14. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

“Taken in bad faith, the ICC's scandalous decision has made universal justice a laughing stock,” Herzog wrote. “It makes a mockery of the sacrifice of all those who fight for justice – from the Allied victory over the Nazis to today.”

Herzog argued that the ICC decision ignores Hamas's use of human shields and its October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks that sparked the war, as well as Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza.

Israel has made several efforts to prevent the ICC from approving arrest warrants. They initially argued that the ICC had no jurisdiction over Israel, but the court said it could issue arrest warrants within the “territorial jurisdiction of Palestine.”

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 27. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Israel also presented other procedural challenges, but they were rejected.

The ICC's decision comes just days after Senate Majority Leader-elect John Thune threatened to sanction the court if it acted on the arrest warrants.

The United States does not officially recognize the authority of the ICC, but this is not the first time that Washington has sought to stop the court's actions.

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In 2020, the Trump administration opposed the ICC's attempts to investigate US soldiers and the CIA involved in alleged war crimes between 2003 and 2004 “in secret detention centers in Afghanistan” and imposed sanctions against ICC prosecutors.

The Biden administration rolled back those sanctions shortly after taking office.

Anders Hagstrom of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.