ICC arrest warrants on Israeli leaders extremely wrongheaded, says Blinken

By Courtney McBride

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the decision by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders on charges of war crimes in Gaza “extremely wrongheaded,” echoing criticism leveled by President Joe Biden. 
 

“The shameful equivalence implied between Hamas and the leadership of Israel, I think that only complicates the prospects for getting such an agreement” on a cease-fire and release of hostages, Blinken said Tuesday at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

He added that the administration was looking at “appropriate steps to take” on the prosecutor’s decision, without commenting further. 

The top US diplomat was pressed by lawmakers over the White House’s engagement on the Israel-Hamas war. Blinken has been at the center of Biden’s messaging struggles over the conflict, seeking to project Washington’s “ironclad” support for Israel while restraining its operations in Gaza to avoid further Palestinian civilian deaths and destruction.  

Several Democratic senators focused on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and Israeli restrictions that have delayed aid deliveries, as well as the State Department’s recent assessment on Israel’s conduct in the war. Republicans pushed Blinken on the White House’s criticism of the Netanyahu government and its decision to pause a shipment of bombs.

“We have one weapon system that we have been holding back pending discussions with Israel about how and where it would be used,” Blinken said.

In a particularly heated exchange, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas accused Biden and Blinken of effectively funding the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel by releasing Iranian funds and allowing the country to sell increasing amounts of oil in defiance of US sanctions.

“This administration — you and President Biden - funded the Oct. 7 attacks by flowing $100 billion to a homicidal, genocidal regime that funded those attacks,” Cruz said.

“That statement is profoundly wrong,” Blinken responded. “I’m not even going to humor it. I think it’s a disgraceful statement.”

As has happened during several appearances by Biden and cabinet members in recent months, Blinken’s testimony was repeatedly interrupted by protesters who accused him of complicity in the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza. 

Also during the hearing, Blinken reiterated the administration’s support for a two-state solution.

“The Palestinians are not going anywhere, the Jews are not going anywhere,” Blinken said. “There has to be an accommodation. And there has to be an accommodation that respects and fulfills the rights of everyone concerned.”

The secretary has crisscrossed the Middle East since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, seeking to craft a plan for postwar Gaza and keep the conflict from spilling over as a cease-fire remains elusive. He has also sought to constrain Iran’s regional proxies — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Shia militias in Iraq and Syria — who’ve sought to capitalize on the Israel-Hamas conflict. 

Last week, Blinken traveled to Kyiv for the first time since September, pledging steadfast US support and touting the $61 billion US aid package secured after a bruising fight with Congress.