ARAB AND WORLD

Thu 23 May 2024 7:27 am - Jerusalem Time

Washington is considering imposing sanctions on ICC

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that he will work with lawmakers to study the possibility of imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court, after it sought to issue arrest warrants against senior officials in the occupying state.


Blinken told a congressional hearing that he was "committed to taking action against this very wrong decision."


Blinken added, "There is no doubt that we have to look at the appropriate steps that need to be taken to deal once again with a very wrong decision."


Yesterday, Tuesday, Republican Senator James Risch asked whether Blinken would support legislation to address the International Criminal Court’s decision “which interferes in the affairs of countries that have an independent, legitimate, and democratic judicial system.”


Republicans are leading a campaign aimed at imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court officials, which may enter the voting phase this week.


The United States has previously supported previous decisions of the International Criminal Court even though it is not a member of it, including supporting the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war in Ukraine.


Last Monday, US President Joe Biden said, “Applying for arrest warrants is outrageous.”

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Media reported that US lawmakers support a bill proposed by Republican Representative Chip Roy from Texas earlier this month.


The law targets ICC officials involved in the case by denying them entry to the United States, canceling any current US visas they hold, and prohibiting them from conducting any real estate transactions within the country, unless the court stops its cases against “persons protected by the United States and its allies.”


On Monday, International Criminal Prosecutor Karim Khan announced in a statement that they were seeking to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant, and three Hamas leaders on charges of committing “war crimes.”


Khan added, in a statement, that “he has reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed on the territory of Palestine in the Gaza Strip, as of at least October 8.”


Khan's statement sparked widespread anger in Israeli circles, to the point of threatening the extremist occupation finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, that "the arrest warrants will be the final nail in dismantling this political and anti-Semitic court," as he claimed.


Occupation President Isaac Herzog described the decision as “more than outrageous, and will encourage terrorists all over the world,” considering that “any attempt to compare these terrorists and the democratically elected government of Israel is disgraceful and cannot be overlooked by anyone.” Meanwhile, the Hebrew newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" quoted Netanyahu as saying, "The decision of the International Criminal Prosecutor is a scandal, and it will not stop us."

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Washington is considering imposing sanctions on ICC