‘We might as well call them the Harry Potter Ministry of Magic’
The arrest warrants from the ICC were because of political pressure, Rep. Jared Moskowitz said.
Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz on Sunday called the International Criminal Court a joke after it issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said: "The ICC is irrelevant. They have no jurisdiction. We might as well call them the Harry Potter Ministry of Magic. They're irrelevant because Israel is not a party to their treaty."
Warrants were issued Monday for Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Yahya Sinwar and two other leaders of Hamas. "I remain deeply concerned about ongoing allegations and emerging evidence of international crimes occurring in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank," ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan said.
Chatting with host Shannon Bream, Moskowitz wasn't buying it, noting that the ICC had not pursued human rights violations in Syria or China. Like Israel, neither of those countries is a signatory to the ICC.
"This is pressure," Moskowitz said, "unfortunately, from the international community that wants to see no more Israel, and they're using the ICC to go ahead and do that, and I think the United States needs to respond in a strong bipartisan way, which is why you're seeing Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate and the Biden administration coming together."
Moskowitz also said that it is the fault of Hamas that there is not a cease-fire in Gaza right now.
"Why we don't have the hostages out and why we don't have a cease-fire is because Hamas won't agree to one," he told Bream. "We need more pressure on Hamas, not less. And anytime there's any daylight between the United States and Israel, Hamas has a reason to not come to the table and agree to a cease-fire."