MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES – FEBRUARY 27: Abdullah Hammoud, Mayor of Dearborn speaks during an election night watch party held by Listen to Michigan campaign in Dearborn, Michigan on February 27, 2024. (Photo by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In a bold and unprecedented move, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud has announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant would be arrested if they set foot within the city’s jurisdiction, following the arrest warrants issued Thurday by the International Criminal Court (ICC), citing the two Israeli leaders’ alleged involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Mayor Hammoud, the son of Lebanese immigrants and a prominent figure in the Arab majority city’s political landscape, made his intentions clear in a post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), writing, “Dearborn will arrest Netanyahu & Gallant if they step within Dearborn city limits. Other cities should declare the same. Our president may not take action, but city leaders can ensure Netanyahu & other war criminals are not welcome to travel freely across these United States.”
The statement quickly garnered national attention, amid division by American officials over how to handle the warrants. Pro-Israel U.S. politicians vowed retribution and even made military threats against the ICC, while left-leaning lawmakers led by Bernie Sanders welcomed the ICC’s decision.
“The ICC prosecutor is right to take these actions. These arrest warrants may or may not be carried out, but it is imperative that the global community uphold international law,” Sanders said in a statement.
The ICC’s arrest warrants accuse Netanyahu and Gallant of using starvation as a method of warfare, in addition to other grave charges related to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Despite the fact that the United States has historically rejected the ICC’s jurisdiction—since it is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court—Mayor Hammoud argued that local leaders still have a role to play in upholding international law.
Abdullah Hammoud, born on March 19, 1990, in Dearborn . Prior to becoming mayor, Hammoud represented the 15th district in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021. Elected in November 2021, he made history as Dearborn’s first Arab-American and Muslim mayor when he assumed office on January 1, 2022.
He leads Dearborn’s large Arab-American community, many of whom have ties to the Middle East and are outspoken about the ongoing violence in Gaza, especially during the election.
