By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., slammed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) efforts to obtain an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Who really cares about the ICC,” Greene told the AFRO.
“The United States of America isn’t interested in international law or international courts,” she added. “I’m not interested in the ICC telling the United States of America or telling any country what they can or cannot do.”
Her remarks come after the ICC announced this week that it was seeking an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and alleged that the prime minister committed grave crimes amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Karim Khan, the ICC’s top prosecutor, stated that the court is looking to obtain arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Diab Ibrahim al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh.
Khan said in a statement that the ICC has “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for numerous war crimes such as intentionally starving civilians and purposely “directing attacks” against civilians in Gaza.
The court also believes that Hamas leaders have engaged in war crimes by taking hostages and engaging in rape and other types of sexual violence against Israelis.
The ICC’s announcement comes months after Hamas launched an attack against Israel on Oct.7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250 others. Since then, Israel has launched countless attacks in Gaza, which has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children – displaced millions and left others on the verge of starvation.
“The ICC’s responsibility is to get down to whether in fact there have been war crimes committed,” U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., told the AFRO.
“I am one who tries not to get in the midst of judicial proceedings. I mean we’ve had difficulty with our courts here in the U.S. as well,” said Clarke. “But, whatever will help us to make sure that we preserve the dignity of humanity and we stop the killing, I’m all for it.”
A three-judge panel will now decide whether to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli and Hamas leaders, a decision that could take roughly two months.