Nov 22, New York – In response to the ICC arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Center for Constitutional Rights released the following statement:
The International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity is not, as President Biden claims, "outrageous." It is long overdue and critical to ending the impunity that has fueled Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its other crimes, including the world’s longest illegal belligerent occupation. Indeed, long before its assault on Gaza, there was voluminous evidence of Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel’s ongoing brutality and criminality in Gaza – which has killed more than 44,000 people, injured more than 104,000, and displaced 1.9 million – makes ICC action all the more urgent.
Biden’s denunciation of the ICC – and his opposition to the accountability which Palestinian organizations and victims have long sought – only deepens his own complicity in Israel’s crimes, including genocide. This will be his legacy. He and his aides have provided Israel with unconditional and indispensable support for its assault on Gaza in violation of both federal and international law. There is no statute of limitations for genocide, and we will continue to pursue those responsible until justice comes.
The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Learn more at ccrjustice.org.