Dearborn mayor vows to arrest Netanyahu if he enters city as Republicans threaten ICC
Dearborn, Michigan - Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud has vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant if they set foot in the Michigan city.
"Dearborn will arrest Netanyahu & Gallant if they step within Dearborn city limits," Hammoud posted on X on Thursday.
"Others cities should declare the same," he added. "Our president [Joe Biden] may not take action, but city leaders can ensure Netanyahu & other war criminals are not welcome to travel freely across these United States."
Hammoud's statement came after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for the two Israelis as well as Mohammed Deif, a senior Hamas leader Israel claims to have killed last July, on accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
If any of the three individuals enter their national borders, the 124 state parties to the Rome Statute are required to arrest them and transfer them to the ICC in the Hague, Netherlands.
The US – which continues to fund Israel's genocide in Palestine – is not among the signatories to the Rome Statute. The White House on Thursday said it "fundamentally rejects" the arrest warrants and claimed the ICC "does not have jurisdiction" over the matter.
US accused of complicity in Israeli crimes
The US in 2002 passed the American Servicemembers Protection Act, which authorizes the use of military force to free any American citizen or citizen of a US ally nation held by the ICC.
Senator Tom Cotton sparked backlash on Thursday for threatening to invoke the "Hague Invasion clause" in support of Israel.
"The ICC is a kangaroo court and Karim Khan is a deranged fanatic. Woe to him and anyone who tries to enforce these outlaw warrants. Let me give them all a friendly reminder: the American law on the ICC is known as The Hague Invasion Act for a reason. Think about it," the Arkansas Republican posted on X.
Israel – with billions of dollars in US military assistance – has slaughtered at least 44,056 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, according to the territory's health ministry. The British medical journal Lancet and other experts believe the true number to be far greater, upwards of 186,000 as of July 2024.
Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, said the ICC's decision "signals that the days of the Israeli apartheid government operating with impunity are ending."
"Those American officials facilitating this genocide can no longer deny that their Israeli counterparts have used starvation as a weapon of war against a captive civilian population. Our government must urgently end our complicity in these violations of human rights and international law," she continued.
"We must stop arming and funding this genocide and end all weapons shipments to the Israeli apartheid regime now."
Cover photo: JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP