GOP Senator Tom Cotton: 'Kangaroo court' ICC has no right to target Israeli officials

Senior Republican US Senator Tom Cotton issues a blistering critique of efforts by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over the war in Gaza.

In a statement, Cotton argues that the court “has no jurisdiction in Israel and its legal pursuit of Israeli officials in built on a lie.”

He calls the ICC a “kangaroo court” and says any attempt by its prosecutor Karim Khan to “threaten the United States and its allies should be seen as an act of aggression and face swift retaliation.”

Cotton touts a House-approved bill to sanction Khan and anyone else involved in potential international arrest warrants targeting Americans or US allies, and calls for it to be brought for a vote in the Senate.

Despite widely being expected to take a senior role in the upcoming Donald Trump administration, Axios has reported that Cotton has declined to take such a position and said he’ll stay in the Senate.