House Republicans urged President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to pressure the ICC against issuing warrants for Israeli officials. (Getty Images)
"The leadership of our greatest ally stands falsely accused of war crimes, ranging from disproportionate force to deliberately starving the Palestinian civilians within the Gaza Strip," the letter says. "These accusations cannot be further from the truth. The civilian casualty ratio reported during these ongoing operations in the Gaza Strip is one of the lowest in any instance of urban warfare. That remains true even if you believe the figures coming from the Gaza Health Ministry."
The lawmakers said Israel has attempted to allow "as much well-vetted humanitarian aid in as possible under the current security situation, accompanied by direct aid deliveries from the United States and our allies" and asserted "with attacks by terrorist groups within Gaza on the humanitarian aid pier being constructed by United States military personnel, the ICC should consider who really does not want aid reaching the civilian population."
"There must not be any false equivalencies made between Israel and the barbaric terrorist organizations like Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the other members of the Palestinian Joint Operations Room who directly targeted and massacred Israeli civilians on October 7th, 2023," the letter says. "In its operations in the Gaza Strip, Israel has attempted to minimize civilian casualties. In their terrorist attacks in Israel, members of the Palestinian Joint Operations Room did everything possible to maximize civilian harm."
Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, R-N.Y., (center) and House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., (right) collaborated on a letter demanding the Biden administration prevent the ICC from charging Israeli officials with war crimes. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Without a police force, the ICC relies on member states to arrest suspects, which has proven to be a major obstacle to prosecutions, according to The Associated Press.
Netanyahu said Friday on the social platform X that Israel "will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense."
"While the ICC will not affect Israel’s actions, it would set a dangerous precedent," he wrote.
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Israel’s Foreign Ministry said late Sunday that it had informed missions abroad of "rumors" that the court could order the arrest of senior Israeli political and military officials.
Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
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