The former Israeli ambassador to Washington, Dr. Michael Oren, said the Biden administration's response to the arrest warrants requested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reflects the Biden administration's unwavering stance in support of Israel.
In an exclusive interview with Israel Hayom, Oren praised the US administration for standing firmly beside Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas terrorism in Gaza. He deemed the ICC prosecutor's request for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders "outrageous and unacceptable." Oren called on the US to invoke the American Servicemembers' Protection Act of 2001 to shield Israel, protecting Netanyahu, Gallant, and Israeli soldiers from prosecution by the ICC in The Hague.
Under this act, the US commits to protecting any ally against whom the ICC issues arrest warrants or indictments. Potential measures include providing legal assistance to Israeli officials, imposing economic sanctions on countries cooperating with the ICC orders, sanctioning ICC officials through asset freezes, and leveraging American companies and banks to enforce such sanctions.
Oren urged the Biden administration to seize this "rare opportunity" and engage Israel in a "genuine, intimate dialogue" about the "day after" the conflict, including the possibility of a path toward Palestinian statehood, without any immediate commitments. "Israel must capitalize on this window of tremendous US support," Oren stresses, "and not forfeit the chance to initiate such crucial negotiations."
In a press release, Secretary of State Antony Blinken relayed that "The United States fundamentally rejects the announcement today from the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that he is applying for arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, together with warrants for Hamas terrorists. We reject the Prosecutor's equivalence of Israel with Hamas. It is shameful. Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and is still holding dozens of innocent people hostage, including Americans."
