Graham knocks ICC over Netanyahu, Gallant: 'A dangerous joke'

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) knocked the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“The International Corrupt Criminal Court has acted in the most absurd and irresponsible manner possible by issuing arrest warrants against the Prime Minister and former Defense Minister of Israel while there is a serious cloud of allegations hanging over the prosecutor who sought these warrants,” Graham said in a post on the social platform X on Thursday.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, it said in a pair of separate press releases Thursday. The warrants allege that the leaders have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity amid the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

“The Court is a dangerous joke. It is now time for the U.S. Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible body. The Court defied every concept of fundamental fairness and legitimized a corrupt prosecutor’s actions,” Graham said in his X post Thursday.

Netanyahu’s office also heavily criticized the ICC on Thursday, calling it “a biased and discriminatory political body” in a statement originally in Hebrew that was translated to English, according to the office.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not give in to pressure. He will continue to pursue all the objectives that Israel set out to achieve in its just war against Hamas and the Iranian axis of terror,’ the statement said.

The Israel-Hamas war began due to a deadly attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group on Oct. 7 of last year, leaving 1,200 people dead. Over 43,000 Palestinians have since died in the war, which recently crossed over the length of a year.

The Hill has reached out to the ICC and the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor for comment.