Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) denounced the International Criminal Court’s efforts to arrest Israeli leaders in a statement on Monday.
“The ICC announcement today is not only misguided and repugnant, it is also a terrible overreach of the body’s authority,” said the Jewish congressman. “To make a false equivalence between the actions of a democratically-elected government and those of Hamas—a brutal terrorist organization—is absurd.”
Schiff defended the Israeli government acting on its “right and duty to defend their nation and their citizens while taking steps to protect civilian lives.”
He pointed out “Israel’s willingness to conduct its own investigations and cooperate with the ICC” and called the decision of the court in The Hague “unprecedented.”
The arrest efforts “will only serve to further jeopardize efforts to free the hostages, and to deliver a propaganda boost to Hamas,” Schiff added.
“The ICC has no jurisdiction or standing in this matter, and this action will only serve to further jeopardize efforts to free the hostages and to deliver a propaganda boost to Hamas,” Schiff added. “The United States government will not waiver in its opposition to terrorist rule of Gaza, and support for the existence of the world’s only Jewish state.”
Recent polling puts Schiff ahead 61% to 37% in the California Senate race against his Republican opponent Steve Garvey, a former professional baseball player who has also defended the Jewish state.