The newly elected leader of the Senate Republicans, John Thune (SD), is sending a clear message that the U.S. will not tolerate arbitrary arrests of Americans and their allies by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Thune, who will be Senate Majority Leader in January, said he would pursue sanctions against the ICC if it does not drop an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who is a target of criticism from Democrats.

Republicans target "illegitimate" court

The United States has never recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC, which has been criticized as a threat to the sovereignty of individual nation-states since its establishment in 2002.

The ICC earlier this year sought arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, over the war in Gaza. The court also called for the arrests of three since-killed Hamas leaders.

In a statement on X, Thune urged current Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to pass sanctions against the ICC, or the new Republican majority will in January.

"If the ICC and its prosecutor do not reverse their outrageous and unlawful actions to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli officials, the Senate should immediately pass sanctions legislation, as the House has already done on a bipartisan basis," Thune wrote.

The Biden administration opposed a bill sanctioning the ICC that passed the House of Representatives in June, with support from 42 Democrats. 

Senator Tom Cotton (Ak.) has proposed a similar bill in the Senate, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act.

Trump's return

Israel has long faced criticism from international groups such as the United Nations for its treatment of Palestinians. The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, this week called for an investigation into whether genocide is happening in Gaza.

While Israel faces censure on the world stage, Republicans have routinely accused the Biden-Harris administration of hamstringing Israel's military and emboldening Iran and its proxies to attack Israel, which is fighting a two-front war with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

With Trump returning to the White House, many expect the friendly U.S.-Israel relationship of his first term to resume. President-elect Trump's prospective foreign policy team, including Florida senator Marco Rubio and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik is hawkish and favorable to Israel.

At the same time, it isn't clear that Trump will concede to all of Netanyahu's wishes - as Trump calls for an end to the war in Gaza and a restoration of peace in the Middle East region.

During his first term, Trump sanctioned the ICC for its efforts to prosecute Americans over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. Trump also enjoyed a very close relationship with Netanyahu, but they had a falling out after Netanyahu was quick to congratulate Biden in 2020.