US Democrat Ritchie Torres announced on Wednesday that he intends to vote in favour of sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

The New York congressman, who has been vocal in his support of Israel and the American Jewish community in the wake of October 7, wrote on X that the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leadership figures “represents the weaponisation of international law at its most egregious.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres in the Bronx (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

“The ICC has set a precedent for criminalising self-defense: any country daring to defend itself against an enemy that exploits civilians as human shields will face persecution posing as prosecution,” Torres wrote.

He added that the Hague-based court “ignores the cause and context of the war,” which he contended was not initiated by Israel but imposed upon the country by “the unbridged barbarism of Hamas on October 7.”

“Not only did Hamas wage war on Israel, causing the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, it carefully constructed a battlefield designed to maximise the loss of civilian life. None of that context seems to matter to the kangaroo court of the ICC, which cannot let facts get in the way of its ideological crusade against the Jewish State. The ICC should be sanctioned not for enforcing the law but for distorting it beyond recognition.”

The ICC issued the arrest warrants in November, when judges determined there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif bore "criminal responsibility" for crimes during the war between Israel and Hamas. Deif was reportedly killed by Israeli forces in July.

Both Israel and Hamas rejected the allegations by the ICC, and a number of US lawmakers – including President Joe Biden – criticised the move. President Biden called it “outrageous” and said in a statement in November that "whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence - none - between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security."

On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the House of Representatives will vote on a bill to impose sanctions on ICC figures over the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant to “put the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan back in his place,” Johnson said.

“(Khan) does not have jurisdiction over Israel or the United States, and it is outrageous that they’re issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former defense minister Gallant,” said Johnson.

“The House will not tolerate rogue actors who circumvent international law to attack Israel and threaten America. We won’t do it.”