A group of 12 Republican senators, led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), have threatened the International Criminal Court (ICC) with sanctions if it moves forward with an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other Israeli leaders.

The senators warned in a letter, “Target Israel and we will target you,” and threatened to “sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States.” They concluded, “You have been warned.”

The ICC has reportedly considered a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest for weeks, amid accusations of war crimes in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The senators argue that any attempt to issue warrants against Israeli leaders would be “illegitimate and lack legal basis,” and would align the ICC with “the largest state sponsor of terrorism and its proxy,” referring to Iran and Hamas.

The Biden administration has stated it does not support an ICC war crimes investigation into Israel, but has not commented on whether it would pursue sanctions against the court if Netanyahu or others are ordered arrested. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We’ve been really clear about the ICC investigation. We do not support it. We don’t believe that they have the jurisdiction. And I’m just going to leave it there for now.”

The ICC responded to unspecified threats in a public statement, saying, “The Office seeks to engage constructively with all stakeholders… That independence and impartiality are undermined, however, when individuals threaten to retaliate against the Court or against Court personnel… Such threats… may also constitute an offence against the administration of justice.”

The letter was signed by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), as well as Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Tedd Budd (R-N.C.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

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