Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota threatened on Sunday to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it did not drop its application for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

Last Wednesday, Thune was elected to be the next Senate Majority Leader once Republicans take control over the Senate in January.

Writing on X, Thune warned: “If the ICC and its prosecutor do not reverse their outrageous and unlawful actions to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli officials, the Senate should immediately pass sanctions legislation, as the House has already done on a bipartisan basis. If Majority Leader Schumer does not act, the Senate Republican majority will stand with our key ally Israel and make this – and other supportive legislation – a top priority in the next Congress.”

In May, the ICC issued applications for arrest warrants for Netanyahu, as well and the since fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Since that time, and investigation has opened into prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged abuse and mistreatment.

In June, Sen. Tom Cotton introduced a bill, closely aligned with a bill that passed the House a few days before, calling for sanctions against prosecutors who have gone after “U.S., Israeli, or any other allied citizen wrongfully targeted by the ICC.”

The United States does not officially recognize the authority of the ICC. However in 2020, President Trump issued sanctions against ICC prosecutors over attempts to investigate US soldiers and the CIA over alleged actions in Afghanistan.

{Matzav.com}