Boma Achenimie 
The outgoing President of the United States (US), Joe Biden and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, have condemned the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s arrest warrant on Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden in a statement issued at the White House on Thursday referred to the ICC‘s arrest warrants of Netanyahu, and the defence chief as outrageous, saying there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.
“Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence, none between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Biden said.
A White House statement, earlier, described the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant as an error.
“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision. The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter,” it read.
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In a statement, on Friday, Speaker Johnson described ICC’s arrest warrant as antisemitic, reprehensible and completely ridiculous.
“The ICC’s decision to target America’s ally, Israel, is antisemitic, reprehensible, and completely ridiculous. It has absolutely no jurisdiction over Israel or the United States, and these illegitimate warrants are an attack on the very concepts of sovereignty and due process,” he said.
Johnson further called on the US Senate and President Biden to take steps that would prevent the warrant from being enforced.
“The U.S. Senate should vote immediately on the bipartisan Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, and President Biden should take clear steps to prevent these warrants from being enforced.
“If Senator Schumer and President Biden do not act now, they will most assuredly invite future lawfare against Israel and the United States. We cannot afford to show weakness,” Johnson added.
