Jackson Purchase News

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has strongly criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing it of false moral equivalence in its handling of issues related to Israel and terrorism.

In a speech delivered on the Senate floor, McConnell stated, “Since the immediate aftermath of October 7th, Israel, her allies, and Jewish people around the world have faced pernicious efforts to equate a sovereign nation’s self-defense with barbaric acts of terrorism." He further lambasted what he termed as "specious media tropes about ‘cycles of violence’" and university statements criticizing Israel's self-defense actions.

McConnell's harshest criticism was reserved for the ICC, which he described as an institution that has "succeeded only in discrediting itself even further as a rogue kangaroo court utterly untethered to morality or justice." He took issue with the ICC prosecutor's application for arrest warrants for both Hamas' chief terrorist and Israel’s duly elected Prime Minister.

The Senate Republican Leader dismissed the ICC's authority over American servicemembers and warned against attempts to equate Hamas' calculated cruelty with Israel’s right to self-defense. He also criticized those within the Senate and Administration who support the ICC's stance.

"This isn’t about Prime Minister Netanyahu. It isn’t about so-called international law," McConnell asserted. He called on President Biden and other Western leaders to support Israel’s right to defend itself, reject the authority of The Hague over non-signatory nations, impose significant costs on the Court if it pursues charges against Israel, and choose between actual justice and mob rule.