Former National Security Council official Richard Goldberg said the International Criminal Court (ICC) should defund its decision to seek an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before targeting the United States.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said on Monday that his office had accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yov Gallant, and Hamas leaders of “war crimes and crimes against humanity” since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7. It said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that he committed the crime.
President Biden condemned the “outrageous” application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.
“This is not serious, this is not a legal issue…This is a legal issue, the use of the legal system as a weapon of war. This is a kangaroo court, a court of last resort. “It’s a democracy in Israel with a functioning court system,” Goldberg said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.”
ICC seeks arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Hamas leaders for ‘war crimes’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken out against the ICC’s announcement that it will seek an arrest warrant for him on war crimes charges in Gaza. (Government Press Office)
A former Trump administration official noted that Israel “has never signed” a treaty that is subject to ICC rules.
“If you’re a democracy, you have a functioning court system and you have different ways to hold yourself accountable, just like in the United States. You don’t have to submit to their jurisdiction,” Goldberg said. .
“So what did they do? They went and questioned Hamas, they went to Hamas’ allies in the Gaza Strip, they interviewed them, and they said, ‘Oh, we have the evidence. You can indict the prime minister and the defense minister.”’ He continued.
“It’s hogwash.”
Democrats split over ICC prosecutor seeking arrest warrant
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pictured in the West Bank in August 2023. (Amos Ben Gershom (GPO)/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Goldberg then suggested that the United States could be next.
“There is an active ICC investigation of U.S. soldiers for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan,” he said. “So if we want to sit back and watch…we’ll be the next ones to watch this kangaroo court start indicting democracies that aren’t even members of the court.”
Co-host Steve Doocy pointed out that the United States, like Israel, is not a member of the ICC. He said the organization has a budget of more than $200 million in 2024, with the biggest donors being Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France.
“Remember, President Trump actually issued an executive order at the time, four years ago, threatening sanctions against ICC officials in response to this type of behavior targeting Israel or the United States; has withdrawn,” Goldberg said.
“President Biden has rescinded that executive order, so there is now no way left to put pressure on this organization or its funders. , we need to restructure the sanctions regime “targeting the flow of money,” he continued.
“Our financial sanctions, if we impose them on the ICC itself, would force any bank to say, “We can’t process this kangaroo court transaction, we can’t fund or lend money, and we can’t finance litigation against the United States.” ‘We cannot allow it to flow.’
Biden slams ICC’s request for arrest warrant for Netanyahu as ‘outrageous’
Goldberg said the United States should go to its closest allies, such as Japan and Germany, and urge them to stop funding the ICC.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also condemned the ICC’s announcement, saying in a separate statement Monday that the State Department rejected the prosecutor’s “equivalency with Israel and Hamas” as “shameful.”
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Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.
