Former NSC official calls for sanctions on ICC over Israel arrest warrants

A former National Security Council member called for sanctions on the International Criminal Court Monday, after it sought arrest warrants on top Israeli and Hamas officials.

The ICC called for the arrest warrants on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three senior Hamas officials, claiming the leaders on both sides are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Robert Greenway, who served on the NSC during the Trump administration, said sanctions should be brought against officials on the ICC and that the United States should not support the court because of how partisan it is.

"The United States and the Congress should be coordinated on their effort to impose restrictions on the ICC," Greenway said on "Just the News, No Noise."  "Previously in the Trump administration, we sanctioned its members, or its activities, which were subversive and political on the face of it. I think that activity needs to be resurrected. The court's rogue, it's political, it serves no justifiable purpose. And as long as it's pursuing partisan political objectives, it shouldn't be supported by the United States, or the United Nations or the international community."

Greenway said an example of the court's partisanship is its decision to investigate the Israel-Hamas war, and the U.S.'s military actions in Afghanistan, while ignoring an alleged genocide from China against its Muslim population called Uyghurs.

House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Glenn Grothman, a Wisconsin Republican, agreed that the ICC should be sanctioned and censured by Congress.

"The United States should not give any deference to international organizations," Grothman said on "Just the News, No Noise." "These international organizations are filled up with dictatorships, crooked dictatorships, anti Western dictatorships. And then they grab the moral high ground and say, 'Oh, look at us here. We represent the International Criminal Court, we represent the [World Health Organization], and we're more high minded than other countries,' which is ridiculous. These are horrible organizations ... Americans ought to reject any of these 'one world' government type of politicians."

Grothman also claimed the warrants were another example of antisemitism among the ICC. 

Other members of Congress have largely condemned the international court for the arrest warrants, but Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the court was "right to take these actions." His comment is contradictory to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said the action showed "deep bias" against the people of Israel.

“The ICC prosecutor’s decision seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders alongside Hamas terrorists is not only profoundly unfair, but it is reprehensible,” Schumer said in a statement, according to The Hill.  “This decision suggesting equivalency between Israel and Hamas is another example of that bias against Israel."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.