Sanctions are being discussed since Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor for the ICC, announced Monday he’s seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Khan also announced that he’ll seek arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed al-Masri.
This comes seven months after Hamas attacks killed an estimated 1,200 Israeli citizens. Hamas also took more than 130 hostages on Oct. 7.
Critics say Khan’s announcement basically places Israel’s leadership on the same level as terrorists.
“America should punish the ICC and put Kareem Khan back in his place, and if the ICC is allowed to threaten Israel's leaders, we know that America will be next," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters this week. "There is a reason that we've never endorsed the International Criminal Court...because it is a direct affront to our own sovereignty."
Grothman said he believes House action is coming soon.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) have introduced bills in their respective chambers calling for sanctions against ICC officials who go after U.S. citizens or allies, including Israel.
For now, no specifics are being offered about what possible sanctions might look like.
“We've got to do something to make sure that this organization doesn't feel in the future, they can crack down quite frankly on anybody, anywhere for any reason whatsoever,” Grothman, a Wisconsin Republican, said on Washington Watch Wednesday.
Israel, like the U.S., did not sign on to the International Criminal Court, which was established by treaty more than 20 years ago. The ICC has authority over its 120 members, a group that lacks a number of nations of size and status.
Will Western Europe comply with ICC?
Some Western European democracies, like the United Kingdom and France, are ICC members.
As such they would be encouraged to make arrests in their countries and seek the transfer of suspects to The Hague for trial.
“You've got a country that is attacked, over a thousand of its citizens are killed, and what they do is they say is Benjamin Netanyahu needs to be arrested in essence if he leaves Israel and goes almost anywhere in the world other than the U.S. or Israel,” Grothman told show host Tony Perkins.
For Israel’s leaders, the idea of arrest outside the country’s borders is real, but the greater threat is public relations.
“They have sent the message to the world that Benjamin Netanyahu should be an outlier and should become a pariah,” Grothman said. “They have pounded it into everybody around the world that Israel is morally repugnant … believe it or not, morally repugnant at a time when just a few months ago a thousand of its citizens were killed.”
That type of marketing from an international body, respected by many, has the potential to do great harm to Israel when coupled with the rise of anti-Semitism.
“You’ve got to wonder, what’s the motive for singling him out?” Grothman asked. “It could be pure, rank anti-Semitism. That’s possible. It could be pure anti-Westernism, right? You have a country that’s hated because it’s adjacent to Gaza, really, and they’re a successful, honestly run nation. Let’s face it, most of the members of the ICC, just as most members of the United Nations, are morally bankrupt crooked countries.”
Grothman said that description also applies to Gaza which is “completely corrupt.”
Another motive could be that ICC leaders are uncomfortable with the idea of a creator of the universe.
“Israel is successful, it’s based on religion, founded to protect Jews. Around the globe you have a growing number of... what else to call them...anti-God countries that are probably offended by Israel,” Grothman said.
House may make a move after the break
Grothman said he believes Johnson will take action in the House in two weeks. Congress is closed next week following Monday’s Memorial Day holiday.
“I would be disappointed if Mike Johnson doesn't have something put together for the floor by that time. I’m looking at the members of the ICC, the countries, sadly, like Canada, but also a lot of military dictatorships who should be standing up to this, but they’re not standing up to it. It’s left to the United States to provide some moral guidance for the rest of the world,” Grothman said.
