Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton Says ICC Has No Jurisdiction Over Israel

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Tom Cotton

US Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) called the United Nations’ International Criminal Court at The Hague a “kangaroo court” on Monday in a statement slamming the ICC prosecutor’s plan to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Israel’s actions in Gaza following the start of the October 7th war.

My statement on the ICC’s continued threats against Israeli officials. pic.twitter.com/4sleb9P14S

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) November 10, 2024

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan recently announced he is seeking arrest warrants for leaders of Israel and Hamas, claiming Israel is starving the Gaza population as a warfare tactic.

“The International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction in Israel and its illegal pursuit of Israeli officials is built on a lie,” Cotton said in a statement on the X social media platform.

“Any attempt by kangaroo court prosecutor Karim Khan to threaten the United States or our allies should be seen as an act of aggression and face swift retaliation.”

The Senator added that “a bipartisan majority in the House has passed a bill to sanction Karim Khan and anyone else involved in any US, Israeli, or other allied citizen being wrongfully targeted by the ICC. [Current Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should immediately bring this up for a vote in the Senate.”

Numerous TikTok videos uploaded by Gazans themselves, showing the surplus of available food and other supplies, make it clear that Khan, who is Lebanese, has other motivations for aiming at Israel’s leadership.

UK Lawyers for Israel Threaten Bar Investigation of ICC Prosecutor Khan over Netanyahu’s Arrest Warrant

“Equating Israel’s democratically elected leaders with the perpetrators of the worst attack on Jews since WWII shows what a farce the International Criminal Court is,” Cotton commented in a statement on his website.

“Mr. Khan’s kangaroo court has no jurisdiction in Israel to pursue these anti-Semitic and politically motivated ‘charges.’ My colleagues and I look forward to making sure neither Khan, his associates nor their families will ever set foot again in the United States.”

Cotton is believed likely to secure a high-ranking position as part of the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who served as America’s 45th president and was re-elected earlier this month following a term held by President Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, the Reuters news agency quoted two sources who said Friday that the International Criminal Court’s governing body will launch an external investigation into its chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct.

An undated and unsigned internal document seen by the news agency that was circulated to member states called on the prosecutor to temporarily step down from his role during the inquiry, according to the report.