Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israeli regime forces seized control of the Rafah crossing.
On Tuesday, Israeli force closed the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings with Egypt, exacerbating the dire humanitarian crisis by blocking aid for the hapless Palestinians trapped by the genocidal Zionist regime forces in the besieged Gaza Strip.
“I urge the ICC to swiftly issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials to finally hold them accountable for this genocide, as is obviously warranted by these well-documented violations of the Genocide Convention under international law,” Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American lawmaker in the US Congress, said in a statement on Tuesday.
For months, Netanyahu made his intent to invade Rafah clear, yet the majority of my colleagues and President Biden sent more weapons to enable the massacre.
My statement on the Israeli apartheid regime's ground invasion of Rafah: pic.twitter.com/PbMP1tq3ka
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) May 7, 2024
In her statement posted on X, she said, "There is nowhere safe in Gaza. Nearly 80 percent of the civilian infrastructure has been destroyed. There is no feasible evacuation plan, and the Israeli government is only trying to provide a false pretense of safety to try to maintain legal cover at the International Court of Justice. Netanyahu knows that he will only stay in power as long as the fighting continues.”
“Many of my colleagues are going to express concern and horror at the crimes against humanity that are about to unfold, even though they just voted to send Netanyahu billions more in weapons.
“Do not be misled, they gave their consent for these atrocities, and our country is actively participating in genocide. For months, Netanyahu made his intent to invade Rafah clear, yet the majority of my colleagues and President Biden sent more weapons to enable the massacre,” Tlaib wrote.
Israeli forces are targeting schools and other places of gathering in Rafah, including the hospitals where the patients and wounded are kept.
In related news, nine US senators called on the Biden administration to apply against the Zionists the Leahy Laws which prohibit sending arms to criminal regimes like Israel that violate human rights.
Senator Peter Welch wrote on X, “My colleagues and I are calling for the consistent application of the Leahy Law to the [Israeli forces].”
My predecessor Patrick Leahy wrote the law that bans U.S. aid to foreign military units that violate human rights, yet multiple administrations have failed to equally implement the law.
My colleagues and I are calling for the consistent application of the Leahy Law to the IDF.
— Senator Peter Welch (@SenPeterWelch) May 7, 2024
Some 1.5 million Palestinians seeking refuge from relentless attacks and starvation by Israel have gathered in the southern Gazan city of Rafah since early October.
Over 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed at the hands of the brutal Israeli regime forces, generating public outrage across the globe.
