Netanyahu arrest warrant called 'gift to terrorists' as pro-Israel lawmakers vow revenge

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A top House Republican leader is accusing the International Criminal Court (ICC) of equating Israel's democratically elected government with terror group Hamas after its chief prosecutor petitioned for arrest warrants against top officials in both.

"The ICC's decision to equate Israel with Hamas as a war criminal is a gift to terrorists around the globe and a slap in the face to the only free-standing democracy in the Middle East," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the No. 3 House GOP lawmaker, told Fox News Digital. "There is no comparison between the deliberate killing, raping, and torturing of thousands of innocent civilians and those who are rightfully defending themselves against it."

He's one of several pro-Israel lawmakers who have called for the ICC to face consequences over the developments. Others are calling for the U.S. to take action directly against the international judicial body.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Monday morning that he believes there are "reasonable grounds" to accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of "war crimes and crimes against humanity" in the Gaza strip.

ICC REQUESTS ARREST WARRANTS FOR NETANYAHU, HAMAS LEADERS OVER ‘WAR CRIMES’

Among the charges Khan listed are the intentional