众议院议长·迈克·约翰逊周二告诉记者，他将继续邀请以色列尽管国际刑事法院检察官在场，本雅明·内塔尼亚胡总理仍将在国会发表讲话称他将申请逮捕令逮捕内塔尼亚胡因战争罪。
约翰逊说，邀请尚未发出，因为他正在等待参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默加入邀请。
舒默星期二告诉记者，他对这个想法持开放态度。
舒默说:“我现在正在与众议院议长讨论这一问题，正如我一直所说的那样，我们与以色列的关系是牢固的，超越了任何一位总理或总统。”
约翰逊说，如果舒默不同意签署这封信，“我们将继续邀请内塔尼亚胡前往众议院。”
这位议长一直是内塔尼亚胡的坚定支持者，他在3月份首次提出邀请内塔尼亚胡前往国会的想法。
大约在这个时候，舒默呼吁举行新的选举以色列称内塔尼亚胡是“和平的障碍”。
“我将永远尊重他年轻时在战场上为以色列表现出的非凡勇气。我相信在他心中，他最优先考虑的是以色列的安全，”舒默3月14日在参议院表示。“然而，我也认为内塔尼亚胡总理已经迷失了方向，因为他让自己的政治生存优先于以色列的最佳利益。”
内塔尼亚胡最后一次在国会发言2015年3月。
约翰逊的计划紧随国际刑事法院检察官周一宣布，他计划寻求对总理，其他以色列领导人和哈马斯领导人的逮捕令。
国际刑事法院检察官卡里姆·a·a·汗(Karim A.A. Khan)声称，以色列领导人对加沙的“战争罪和反人类罪”负有“刑事责任”，因为他们让平民挨饿，故意造成巨大痛苦和其他“不人道行为”。
内塔尼亚胡告诉美国广播公司的“早安美国”周二，国际刑事法院的计划是“荒谬的”和“命中工作”
乔·拜登总统称检察官的决定为以色列领导人寻求逮捕令“离谱。”
虽然许多国会议员也赞同这一说法，但一些民主党人对邀请内塔尼亚胡前往华盛顿持谨慎态度。
威斯康星州民主党众议员马克·波坎警告说，如果内塔尼亚胡在国会联席会议上发表讲话，他将帮助国际刑事法院在众议院向内塔尼亚胡发出逮捕令。
“如果内塔尼亚胡来国会发表讲话，我会非常高兴地向国际刑事法院展示如何在众议院发出逮捕令，”Pocan周一在X上发布。“哈马斯领导人也是如此。停火。没有攻击性武器。食物，水，&药必须打通。"
美国和以色列不是《罗马规约》的签署国，该规约将国际刑事法院制度化，并授权其起诉犯有战争罪的个人。与其他签署国不同，如果内塔尼亚胡前往华盛顿，美国没有义务逮捕他。
约翰逊断然拒绝了波坎的警告，称其“明显荒谬”
与此同时，议长正在考虑立法，以可能的制裁来回应国际商会的计划。
Speaker Johnson moving ahead on Netanyahu invite to address Congress in wake of possible ICC warrant
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday that he's moving ahead with an invitation toIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress despite an International Criminal Court prosecutorsaying he would apply for a warrant to arrest Netanyahufor war crimes.
Johnson said that an invitation hasn't been sent out yet because he was awaiting word from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to join the invitation.
Schumer told reporters Tuesday he is open to the idea.
"I'm discussing that now with the speaker of the House, and as I've always said, our relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends any one prime minister or president," Schumer said.
Johnson said that if Schumer did not agree to sign the letter, "We were going to proceed and invite Netanyahu just to the House."
The speaker, who has been a staunch supporter of Netanyahu, first floated the idea of inviting the prime minister to Congress in March.
It was around this time that Schumercalled for new electionsin Israel calling Netanyahu an "obstacle to peace."
"I will always respect his extraordinary bravery for Israel on the battlefield as a younger man. I believe in his heart his highest priority is the security of Israel," Schumer said on the Senate floor on March 14. "However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel."
Netanyahulast addressed Congressin March 2015.
Johnson's plan comes on the heels of the ICC prosecutor's announcement Monday that he planned to seek warrants against the prime minister, other Israeli leaders and Hamas leaders.
ICC prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan alleged the Israeli leaders bear "criminal responsibility" for "war crimes and crimes against humanity" in Gaza through the starvation of civilians, willfully causing great suffering and other "inhumane acts."
Netanyahutold ABC's "Good Morning America"Tuesday that the ICC's plan was "absurd" and a "hit job."
President Joe Biden called the prosecutor's decision to seek arrest warrants for the Israeli leaders"outrageous."
While many members of Congress also echoed this statement, some Democrats were wary of inviting Netanyahu to Washington.
Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin warned that if Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress, he'd help the ICC serve the warrant to Netanyahu in the House chamber.
"If Netanyahu comes to address Congress, I would be more than glad to show the ICC the way to the House floor to issue that warrant," Pocan posted on X Monday. "Ditto for Hamas leader. Ceasefire. No offensive weapons. Food, water,& medicine must get through."
The U.S. and Israel are not signatories to the Rome Statute, which institutionalized the international court and empowers it to prosecute individuals for war crimes. Unlike other countries that are signatories, the U.S. would not be obligated to arrest Netanyahu should he travel to Washington.
Johnson flatly dismissed Pocan's warning shot as "patently absurd."
In the meantime, the speaker is considering legislation to respond to the ICC's plan with possible sanctions.
