Hours After ICC Issues Warrants for Netanyahu & Gallant, Biden Recycles Six-Month-Old Statement

U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Thursday evening that the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is “outrageous.”

“Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence—none—between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said, adding “once again” this time. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

The U.S. president didn’t name either Israeli official in his statement, in which he referred only to “Israeli leaders.”

Biden stated nearly the same thing on May 20, when he said: “The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence—none—between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

The ICC is a stand-alone court in The Hague, which is not part of the United Nations.