US President Joe Biden has revoked sanctions on top officials at
the International Criminal Court that were imposed under the Trump
administration, the State Department announced Friday.
![image](/2021/04/banner-law.jpg")
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the economic sanctions
imposed on ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and a top aide in
2019 “were inappropriate and ineffective,” and were therefore
lifted.
![image](/2021/01/payne-alex.jpg")
The Hague-based court is probing alleged war crimes in
Afghanistan by Afghan forces, the Taliban and US military. It also
recently opened a probe into alleged war crimes by US ally Israel
and Palestinian terror groups. Neither the US nor Israel are
members of the ICC.
“We continue to disagree strongly with the ICC’s actions
relating to the Afghanistan and Palestinian situations. We maintain
our longstanding objection to the court’s efforts to assert
jurisdiction over personnel of non-states parties such as the
United States and Israel,” Blinken said.
He added: “We believe, however, that our concerns about these
cases would be better addressed through engagement with all
stakeholders in the ICC process rather than through the imposition
of sanctions.”
Quoting unnamed American officials, Axios reporter Barak Ravid
tweeted that Blinken had updated Israel’s Foreign Minsiter Gabi
Ashkenazi before the announcement.
According to Ravid, the administration decided to remove the
sanctions ahead of a debate on a petition against them at federal
court. Administration officials reportedly told Jerusalem they
would not be able to defend the legality of the sanctions.
The decision to lift the sanctions was criticized by the
pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, which denounced the ICC officials for
“pursuing a baseless and discriminatory attack” on Israel.
“We urge the administration to continue and increase the use of
all of its diplomatic tools to stand with Israel against the ICC’s
discriminatory campaign. Bipartisan majorities in Congress oppose
the ICC’s actions against Israel, and the US must continue to stand
with our ally,” the group said.
The dovish J Street lobby organization welcomed the move.
“By removing these sanctions, President Biden, Secretary Blinken
and their team are sending an important message that whatever
disagreements they may have with the ICC or other international
bodies, they will not act to improperly interfere with their
proceedings or to intimidate and bully their personnel,” J Street
said in a statement.
The group has previously said it takes no position on the merits
of the ICC probe.
Last month, the administration said it “firmly” opposes the
ICC’s recent decision to open an investigation into alleged war
crimes committed by Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank,
Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, but was still weighing whether to
maintain the sanctions against the body.
State Department spokesman Ned Price insisted that the ICC does
not have jurisdiction over the matter as Israel is not party to the
Rome Statute that established the court.
The ICC has sent formal notices to Israel and the Palestinian
Authority about its impending investigation into possible war
crimes, giving them a few weeks to seek deferral by proving they
are carrying out their own investigations.
Bensouda announced on March 3 that she was opening an
investigation into actions committed by Israel and the Palestinians
in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem since 2014. The
announcement of the investigation came less than a month after the
court ruled it had the jurisdiction to open a probe. A preliminary
investigation to settle the justiciability question took more than
five years.
The ICC announced it would investigate possible war crimes
committed by Israel and Palestinians following a request by the
Palestinians, who joined the court in 2015 after being granted
nonmember observer status in the UN General Assembly.
Israel has fiercely condemned the investigation, accusing the
ICC of bias, noting that it is demonstrably capable of
investigating any alleged IDF crimes through its own legal
hierarchies, and saying the ICC has no jurisdiction since the
Palestinians do not have a state. Israel is not a member of the
ICC, but its citizens could be subject to arrest abroad if warrants
are issued.
The ICC probe is expected to focus on three main areas: the 2014
war between Israel and Hamas; Israeli settlement policy; and the
2018 Great March of Return protests, a series of violent
demonstrations along Gaza’s border with Israel that left dozens of
Palestinians dead.
The probe will also look at terrorist rocket fire from Gaza onto
civilian areas in Israel.
Bensouda is to be replaced as prosecutor in June by British
lawmaker Karim Khan. Israel is said to hope Khan may be less
hostile or even cancel the probe.
US President Joe Biden has revoked sanctions on top officials at
the International Criminal Court that were imposed under the Trump
administration, the State Department announced Friday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the economic sanctions
imposed on ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and a top aide in
2019 “were inappropriate and ineffective,” and were therefore
lifted.
The Hague-based court is probing alleged war crimes in
Afghanistan by Afghan forces, the Taliban and US military. It also
recently opened a probe into alleged war crimes by US ally Israel
and Palestinian terror groups. Neither the US nor Israel are
members of the ICC.
“We continue to disagree strongly with the ICC’s actions
relating to the Afghanistan and Palestinian situations. We maintain
our longstanding objection to the court’s efforts to assert
jurisdiction over personnel of non-states parties such as the
United States and Israel,” Blinken said.
He added: “We believe, however, that our concerns about these
cases would be better addressed through engagement with all
stakeholders in the ICC process rather than through the imposition
of sanctions.”
Quoting unnamed American officials, Axios reporter Barak Ravid
tweeted that Blinken had updated Israel’s Foreign Minsiter Gabi
Ashkenazi before the announcement.
According to Ravid, the administration decided to remove the
sanctions ahead of a debate on a petition against them at federal
court. Administration officials reportedly told Jerusalem they
would not be able to defend the legality of the sanctions.
The decision to lift the sanctions was criticized by the
pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, which denounced the ICC officials for
“pursuing a baseless and discriminatory attack” on Israel.
“We urge the administration to continue and increase the use of
all of its diplomatic tools to stand with Israel against the ICC’s
discriminatory campaign. Bipartisan majorities in Congress oppose
the ICC’s actions against Israel, and the US must continue to stand
with our ally,” the group said.
The dovish J Street lobby organization welcomed the move.
“By removing these sanctions, President Biden, Secretary Blinken
and their team are sending an important message that whatever
disagreements they may have with the ICC or other international
bodies, they will not act to improperly interfere with their
proceedings or to intimidate and bully their personnel,” J Street
said in a statement.
The group has previously said it takes no position on the merits
of the ICC probe.
Last month, the administration said it “firmly” opposes the
ICC’s recent decision to open an investigation into alleged war
crimes committed by Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank,
Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, but was still weighing whether to
maintain the sanctions against the body.
State Department spokesman Ned Price insisted that the ICC does
not have jurisdiction over the matter as Israel is not party to the
Rome Statute that established the court.
The ICC has sent formal notices to Israel and the Palestinian
Authority about its impending investigation into possible war
crimes, giving them a few weeks to seek deferral by proving they
are carrying out their own investigations.
Bensouda announced on March 3 that she was opening an
investigation into actions committed by Israel and the Palestinians
in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem since 2014. The
announcement of the investigation came less than a month after the
court ruled it had the jurisdiction to open a probe. A preliminary
investigation to settle the justiciability question took more than
five years.
The ICC announced it would investigate possible war crimes
committed by Israel and Palestinians following a request by the
Palestinians, who joined the court in 2015 after being granted
nonmember observer status in the UN General Assembly.
Israel has fiercely condemned the investigation, accusing the
ICC of bias, noting that it is demonstrably capable of
investigating any alleged IDF crimes through its own legal
hierarchies, and saying the ICC has no jurisdiction since the
Palestinians do not have a state. Israel is not a member of the
ICC, but its citizens could be subject to arrest abroad if warrants
are issued.
The ICC probe is expected to focus on three main areas: the 2014
war between Israel and Hamas; Israeli settlement policy; and the
2018 Great March of Return protests, a series of violent
demonstrations along Gaza’s border with Israel that left dozens of
Palestinians dead.
The probe will also look at terrorist rocket fire from Gaza onto
civilian areas in Israel.
Bensouda is to be replaced as prosecutor in June by British
lawmaker Karim Khan. Israel is said to hope Khan may be less
hostile or even cancel the probe.