The White House plans to work with Congress to impose tough sanctions on the leadership of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to the prosecutor's request to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders amid the war in Gaza.
ICC may come under US sanctions
During a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that he would like to see US sanctions against the court renewed in response to the move announced by ICC Prosecutor Kareem Khan.
I want to act, not just talk. Will you support a bipartisan effort to impose sanctions on the ICC, not only for its outrageous actions against Israel, but also to protect our own interests in the future?” Graham asked Blinken.
Anthony Blinken answered this question in the affirmative:
I will be happy to work with you on this,” he declared.
What is important to understand is that the United States is not a member of the ICC, but has expressed its support for the Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin because of the war in Ukraine.
The US State Department does not hide that they consider the new decision of the ICC to be "deeply erroneous".
This is not the first conflict between the US and the ICC
Earlier, Republicans threatened the Court to pass a law imposing sanctions against the ICC, but in reality it is impossible to do without the support of President Joe Biden.
A few years ago, former President Donald Trump's team accused the ICC of encroaching on US national sovereignty when it authorised an investigation into war crimes committed in Afghanistan.
The states imposed sanctions in the form of asset freezes and entry bans against court employees, including then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
Biden lifted those sanctions in April 2021, shortly after taking office.
