Democrats divided over ICC prosecutor seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Hamas leaders

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Democrats are coming out divided against the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday following a prosecutor's decision to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’ top leaders, with one lawmaker describing it as "retribution against Israel for the original sin of existing as a Jewish State."

Rep. Richie Torres, D-N.Y., made the pointed remark as ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said his office has "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, its top political leader Ismail Haniyeh and its military commander Mohammed Dief have committed "war crimes and crimes against humanity" since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7.

"Israel is not a member of the ICC and therefore the ICC has no jurisdiction. The decision to seek arrest warrants is not law but politics," Torres said in a statement. "It is not justice but rather retribution against Israel for the original sin of existing as a Jewish State and the subsequent sin of defending itself amid the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

"Today’s decision in effect makes it criminal for a state like Israel to defend itself against an enemy shrewd enough to embed itself in a civilian population, as Hamas has done to an