Rep. Omar’s Statement on ICC Prosecutor’s Applications for Arrest Warrants for Hamas and Israeli Leadership
WASHINGTON—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) released the following statement following the applications for arrest warrants for senior Hamas and Israeli leadership for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court:
“Since Nuremberg, the United States has been a global leader in the pursuit of international justice. It is one of the foundational philosophies underpinning the post-war rules-based international order.
The International Criminal Court must be allowed to conduct its work independently and without interference. The application for arrest warrants is merely the beginning of a judicial process. The ICC has been a functioning court – it has seen convictions, acquittals, and dismissals, as we would expect from an impartial and non-political judicial body.
The allegations from the Prosecutor’s office are significant, and it has long been my belief that the absence of credible processes for justice are a key reason the conflict between Israel and Palestinians continues to escalate. We must remember the ethos of Benjamin Ferencz, the Nuremberg prosecutor and vocal champion of the ICC, who was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2022: law, not war.
I express my admiration and respect for the victims, survivors, and witnesses of the atrocities in Israel on October 7th and the victims, survivors, and witnesses of the war crimes that have and are taking place in Gaza who gave their testimony to the Prosecutor’s office. I am praying, for all of their sake, that true justice and not just violent revenge will be done.
Although we have never joined the International Criminal Court, we have frequently supported its work under Administrations from both parties. Both the Bush Administration, in the case of Darfur, and the Obama Administration, in the case of Libya, understood the importance of the ICC’s work, even in cases where the country in question was not a State Party.
Finally, it is crucial here that we recall that the ICC operates under the principle of complementarity, meaning that it does not have jurisdiction when States demonstrate both the ability and the willingness to conduct their own independent and impartial investigations. A credible domestic process that can hold perpetrators to account remains preferable to international tribunals. I strongly encourage Israeli and Palestinian authorities to consider that path.”