ICC arrest rumours spark hysteria in US, ‘Israel’

News in “Israel” that some of its top politicians could be soon hauled off to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face genocide charges has sparked off a wave of hysterical attempts to quash to rumoured prosecution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – the chief suspect – called up US President Joe Biden demanding he prevent the court from issuing arrest warrants, even though neither Israel nor the US recognise the ICC or are signatories to its convention.

And an army of US Congressmen are raising a blizzard of outrage, demanding “Israel” be afforded the legal impunity it has become accustomed to.

The names of Security Minister Yoav Gallant, and Israeli occupation forces (IOF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi have been circulating as other suspects the ICC is looking at.

Quoting two unidentified “Israeli” officials, Axios reported Netanyahu expressed his concern to Biden in a phone call as reports of his impending arrest mushroomed on news websites and social media.

The ICC has been looking into war crimes committed back in 2014 in the Gaza Strip, however, it has produced no punitive decisions against individuals.

And it has issued no statements about any imminent “Israeli” arrests, an indication of just how nervous the Israelis are that their leaders could be facing prosecution. This controversy was entirely generated from within the “Israeli” media.

The White House declined to comment on the exact content of Netanyahu’s call with Biden, but told Axios, “the ICC has no jurisdiction in this situation and we do not support its investigation”.

Nonetheless, the ICC’s arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine garnered the support of the US and other Western nations in 2022.

US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel claimed Israeli military actions in Gaza were not comparable to Russian operations in Ukraine. He was questioned over the reason the US opposed ICC prosecution of Israeli officials, but supported ICC action against Russia. He said, “There is no moral equivalency between the kinds of things that we see [Russian President Vladimir Putin] and the Kremlin undertake in comparison to the Israeli government.”

Members of Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties are threatening hell or high water if ICC issues warrants for senior Israeli officials.

They have threatened the ICC with retaliation if it proceeds. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the rumoured warrants “disgraceful” and “lawless”.

Johnson called for the Biden administration to “use every available tool to prevent such an abomination.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul told Axios he expects Congress to sanction ICC officials investigating the US and its allies.