Hoyer Statement on Unfounded Warrant Applications for Israeli Leaders by the International Criminal Court

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement today on the International Criminal Court's announcement that it will seek to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant:

“Israel has not committed war crimes or crimes against humanity in the course of defending its people against Hamas. I stand with the Biden-Harris Administration in its rejection of the International Criminal Court prosecutor's decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. These charges are not based in facts and are ill-advised. The prosecutor's action is particularly counterproductive given that he was scheduled to meet Israeli officials in a matter of days to discuss the investigation. Instead, he announced these charges on CNN before giving the Israeli government an opportunity to comment, which the Israeli government indicated it was prepared to do. Although taking such action against the Hamas terrorist leaders who organized the brutal October 7 terror attacks is appropriate, doing the same to democratically elected leaders of one of America's closest allies draws a dangerous moral equivalency.

“Hamas terrorists initiated this war by slaughtering, torturing, raping, and kidnapping thousands of Israeli civilians in a devastating surprise attack, all in accordance with the organization's stated goal 'to fight Jews and kill them.' Our Israeli allies have exercised their absolute right to defend their nation and its people by fighting to defeat Hamas. Trying to equate those two missions is inconsistent with the facts and ignores the efforts Israel has made to get noncombatants out of harm’s way. Those efforts, sadly, were thwarted by Hamas, who sees the loss of life of noncombatants as a propaganda victory – a tragic reality for the Palestinian people.

“While Hamas has sought to maintain its oppressive rule over the innocent people of Gaza, the Israeli government has upheld the rule of law and continued to protect Israelis' rights and liberties. For 32 consecutive weeks in 2023, we saw Israeli protesters take to the streets to voice their opposition to Prime Minister Netanyahu's proposed judicial reforms. The Israeli government did not attempt to silence those opposing views, nor does it attempt to silence Israelis today who are critical of their government's conduct in Gaza. Trying to associate democratically elected leaders with terrorists, dictators, and authoritarians sets a dangerous precedent and will only undermine our work to secure a deal to release the remaining hostages held captive in Gaza and establish a temporary ceasefire.”