Rep. Jared Moskowitz on Sunday likened the International Criminal Court to a fictitious institution in a fantasy book series as he criticized it for seeking action against Israel for alleged war crimes in its war against Hamas.

The Florida Democrat called out the ICC for targeting Israel after not taking similar measures against China and Syria, even though all three countries are not parties to the ICC, and China and Syria are known to have violated human rights.

“This is totally political. The ICC is irrelevant. They have no jurisdiction. We might as well call them the Harry Potter Ministry of Magic,” Mr. Moskowitz said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“They’re irrelevant because Israel is not a party to their treaty,” he said. “So this is pressure unfortunately from the international community that wants to see no more Israel.”

The ICC announced last week it would seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials on charges of  war crimes. The ICC said it wants warrants for Hamas leaders, as well.

The Israeli government and the Biden administration have criticized the potential warrants. House Republicans have said they want to draft a sanctions bill against the ICC.

Mr. Biden last week said the United States doesn’t “recognize [the ICC’s] jurisdiction, the way it’s been exercised.”

“We don’t think there’s an equivalence between what Israel did and what Hamas did,” the president said in a joint press conference with the president of Kenya.

Neither the U.S. nor Israel are members of the ICC, so the U.S. maintains that the ICC cannot issue arrest warrants for non-members.

Mr. Moskowitz said he hopes Congress can respond “in a bipartisan basis” to go against the ICC, and that he’s open to putting sanctions on the court.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.