Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib says arrest warrants "long overdue" for Israel's Netanyahu, former defense chief
(CBS DETROIT) - Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib says the arrest warrants issued for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were a "long overdue decision."
The International Criminal Court issued warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, along with Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, whom Israel has said was killed in an airstrike in July.
Judges found there were "reasonable grounds to believe that" both Netanyahu and Gallant "intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity, from at least 8 October 2023 to 20 May 2024," when the ICC prosecutor filed applications for the arrest warrants, the ICC said in a statement Thursday.
On Thursday, Tlaib said the warrant "signals that the days of the Israeli apartheid government operating with impunity are ending," and continued, "Today's historic arrest warrants cannot bring back the dead and displaced, but they are a major step towards holding war criminals accountable. Netanyahu and Gallant must be arrested and brought before the ICC."
Tlaib, a Palestinian American, voiced her opposition to the war in Gaza, and was censured by the House last year after being accused of "promoting false narratives." In July 2024, the congresswoman held a sign during Netanyahu's speech to Congress that read "war criminal" on one side and "guilty of genocide."
Meanwhile, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said on X that the city "will arrest Netanyahu & Gallant if they step within Dearborn city limits."
"Others cities should declare the same. Our president may not take action, but city leaders can ensure Netanyahu & other war criminals are not welcome to travel freely across these United States," Hammoud said.
The Israel-Hamas war was a central election-year topic for Arab American and Muslim communities in Michigan, some of whom criticized the Biden administration over its handling of the war. The communities played a significant role in the presidential race, with many voting "uncommitted" during the primary election when Biden was still running and pushing supporters to either vote for President-elect Donald Trump or a third party.
Trump won both Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, the first time a Republican presidential candidate won those cities since former President George Bush in 2000.
Trump also clinched Michigan in the 2024 election, a state he lost in 2020.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib's full statement
"The International Criminal Court's long overdue decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity signals that the days of the Israeli apartheid government operating with impunity are ending. Since this genocide began, the United States has provided more than $18 billion in weapons to the Israeli government.
"The Biden Administration can no longer deny that those same US weapons have been used in countless war crimes. Those American officials facilitating this genocide can no longer deny that their Israeli counterparts have used starvation as a weapon of war against a captive civilian population.
"Our government must urgently end our complicity in these violations of human rights and international law. We must stop arming and funding this genocide and end all weapons shipments to the Israeli apartheid regime now. Today's historic arrest warrants cannot bring back the dead and displaced, but they are a major step towards holding war criminals accountable. Netanyahu and Gallant must be arrested and brought before the ICC."