Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the United Nations’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) “can go to hell” after it ordered Israel to immediately halt its military assault of Rafah, a densely populated area in southern Gaza.
“As far as I’m concerned, the ICJ can go to hell. It is long past time to stand up to these so-called international justice organizations associated with the UN,” Graham said in a post on the social platform X.
“The ICJ’s ruling that Israel should stop operations that are necessary to destroy four battalions of Hamas killers and terrorists – who use Palestinians as human shields – is ridiculous. This will and should be ignored by Israel,” Graham said.
The top United Nations court ruled Friday that Israel should halt its offensive in Rafah, but it doesn’t have a way to enforce its ruling.
Russia previously ignored the ICJ’s 2022 order to stop its invasion of Ukraine.
Friday’s ruling is part of mounting international pressure on Israel to wind down its war in Gaza, which Palestinian health authorities say has resulted in more than 35,000 Palestinian deaths.
Ireland, Norway and Spain said this week they will recognize a Palestinian state, and the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Graham on Monday ripped the decision to seek the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant along with three top Hamas officials as “outrageous.”
“This outrageous decision is truly a slap in the face to the independent judiciary of Israel, which is renowned for their independence,” Graham said in a statement, vowing to push for sanctions against the ICC.