Tlaib urges ICC to ARREST NETANYAHU after the Israeli leader's decision to invade Rafah

By lauraharris // 2024-05-10

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Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he decided to invade Rafah following the United States' approval of over $14 billion in military aid. "It’s no coincidence that immediately after our government sent the Israeli apartheid regime over $14 billion with absolutely no conditions on upholding human rights, Netanyahu began a ground invasion of Rafah to continue the genocide of Palestinians—with ammunition and bombs paid for by our tax dollars," said Tlaib in a statement. Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, is one of just 36 other congressmen who opposed the foreign aid package due to the alleged ties of U.S.-supplied weaponry to the violence against civilians in Gaza. Tlaib has also joined forces with 56 other legislators who have been urging the administration of President Joe Biden to halt shipments of offensive weapons in fear that such weapons could contribute to Israel's invasion of Rafah, where more than 1.4 million Gazans – including over 600,000 children – have run to for refuge. (Related: LIES: U.S. asserts no genocide being committed in Gaza amid violent Israeli military campaign.) Despite the opposition, Biden still signed the package into law in April. Shortly after, Israeli forces seized control of Rafah's border crossing with Egypt, effectively preventing Palestinians from fleeing and blocking the delivery of crucial humanitarian aid into Gaza. For Palestinians trapped in Rafah, nowhere else in Gaza is safe to run to. "Many of my colleagues are going to express concern and horror at the crimes against humanity that are about to unfold, even though they just voted to send Netanyahu billions more in weapons," Tlaib said. "Do not be misled; they gave their consent for these atrocities, and our country is actively participating in genocide. For months, Netanyahu made his intent to invade Rafah clear, yet the majority of my colleagues and President Biden sent more weapons to enable the massacre." In turn, Tlaib called upon the ICC to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials. "I urge the ICC to swiftly issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials to finally hold them accountable for this genocide, as is obviously warranted by these well-documented violations of the Genocide Convention under international law."

Senators warn of serious repercussions if ICC prosecutor issues arrest warrants

In response to Tlaib's call to action, 12 senators, led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) wrote a letter to Karim A. A. Khan, the prosecutor for the ICC, to warn him that any actions taken against Israeli officials would be illegitimate and lack legal basis. "The ICC is attempting to punish Israel for taking legitimate actions of self-defense against their Iranian-backed aggressors. In fact, in your own words, you witnessed ‘scenes of calculated cruelty’ conducted by Hamas in Israel following the October 7 attacks," the letter read. "These arrest warrants would align the ICC with the largest state sponsor of terrorism and its proxy. To be clear, there is no moral equivalence between Hamas' terrorism and Israel's justified response." The senators argued that any move against Israel would not only be unjust but also a breach of the court's principles, as the ICC can only proceed in cases where the relevant government is unwilling or unable to prosecute itself. "By issuing warrants, you would be calling into question the legitimacy of Israel’s laws, legal system, and democratic form of government," the letter stated. "Issuing arrest warrants for the leaders of Israel would not only be unjustified, it would expose your organization’s hypocrisy and double standards." The letter further accuses the ICC of selectively applying its justice, pointing out the lack of arrest warrants against leaders of nations accused of egregious human rights violations, including Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Furthermore, the letter reminded Khan that the U.S. and Israel aren't part of the ICC, so actions against them fall outside its authority. It warned that any such actions would lead to the cessation of American support for the ICC, sanctions against its employees and a ban on Khan and his family from entering the United States. Watch this clip of South African lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi providing "chilling" evidence that Israel's continued indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza constitutes genocide. This video is from the Contrarian channel on Brighteon.com.

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Senators warn of serious repercussions if ICC prosecutor issues arrest warrants

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