Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Co-Chair of the Israel Allies Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant:

            “The ICC’s outrageous issuance of arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister Gallant is a grotesquely bad decision by a court that is corrupted by blatant antisemitism.

            The ICC is a rogue actor on the world stage, and the United States must have a more effective long-term approach for how to respond to it.

            Their latest action is a further manifestation of the same antisemitism that is rampant at the United Nations and related international organizations. In this Congress alone, I’ve chaired four congressional hearings on how they are absolutely infiltrated by antisemitic personnel who on a daily basis go after Israel with such cruelty.

            With my strong support and vote, the House passed the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act in June to sanction the ICC for such abuse. The Senate should immediately pass this critical legislation.

            Israel needs the ability to defend itself—and they need friends and partners.”

Watch Rep. Smith discuss the ICC's outrageous move on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins:

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