Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota threatened Sunday with sanctions unless the International Criminal Court (ICC) withdraws its application for an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Wednesday, Thune, who was elected as the next Senate Majority Leader after Republicans take control of the Senate in January 2025, said that if the current Democratic leadership does not stand trial in an international tribunal, he will He warned that he would be brought to trial.
“If the ICC and its prosecutors do not reverse their outrageous and illegal actions in seeking arrest warrants against Israeli officials, the Senate should immediately pass sanctions legislation, as the House has already done on a bipartisan basis.” ,” Thun wrote to X. With Majority Leader Schumer taking no action, the Senate Republican majority will stand by Israel, a key ally, and make this and other aid legislation a top priority in the next Congress. ”
Sen. John Thune (R.S.D., center), newly elected Senate Majority Leader for the upcoming 119th Congress, speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., November 13, 2024. November 13th (TING SHEN/AFP via Getty Images)
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In May, the ICC applied for arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-Israeli Defense Minister Yov Gallant, and three Hamas terrorists on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity following the October 7, 2023 attacks. All three Hamas leaders are believed to have been killed since then.
Thune's threat was made in conjunction with a bill introduced in June by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, that passed the House with bipartisan support just days earlier. He was working closely with… asked for sanctions against prosecutors who pursued “U.S., Israeli, or other allied nationals who have been unfairly targeted by the ICC.”
Although the United States does not officially recognize the ICC's authority, this is not the first time the U.S. government has attempted to halt the court's actions.
In 2020, the Trump administration opposed the ICC's efforts to investigate the involvement of U.S. soldiers and the CIA in the incident. Suspected war crime He was detained in a “secret detention facility in Afghanistan” from 2003 to 2004 and imposed sanctions on the ICC prosecutor.
However, the sanctions did not just target individuals, including asset freezes and international travel bans, but were deemed at the time to have the potential to have “far-reaching consequences”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the 79th United Nations General Assembly on Friday, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
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“Service providers to the ICC, from banks to vending machine companies, may re-evaluate whether it is wise to continue working with the ICC in light of this situation. Risk of inadvertently violating US sanctions” Human Rights Watch explained.
”[It] “This has created fear and uncertainty for nongovernmental organizations, consultants, and lawyers who work with the ICC to conduct investigations and adjudications,” the organization added.
Richard Goldberg, who served on the White House National Security Council during the Trump administration and is currently a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that the 2020 sanctions “were designed to shake up the organization. It was effective.” The election for a new prosecutor general is approaching. ”
Goldberg, referring to the ICC's chief prosecutor who applied for arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Gallant, said: “The existence of US sanctions has led Karim Khan to shelve the Israeli and US investigations after his election. Many people believed that it was the case.” .
Mr. Goldberg argued that sanctions against prosecutors would not be enough to deter Mr. Khan from proceeding with his case against Prime Minister Netanyahu, adding that the ICC chief could consider sanctions against prosecutors as a “medal of honor.” I warned you that there is.
Karim Khan, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, speaks to AFP at the Cour d'Honneur at the Palais Royal in Paris on February 7, 2024. (Dimitar Dirkov/AFP via Getty Images)
Goldberg said he thinks lawmakers should consider going after the ICC as a whole instead of individual prosecutors this time.
“Threatening sanctions against individuals involved in illegal plots to indict American and Israeli soldiers and using sanctions as a means to cut off access to ICC funds,” he told Fox News Digital. It's different,” he said.
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He added: “Countries like Japan and Germany will put a lot of pressure on the ICC to back down if they think their banks could be subject to sanctions for sending money to the ICC.” he added.
According to Reuters, court decisions on arrest warrants are usually made within three months, but it remains unclear when the panel will make its decision.
The last time the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber was asked to decide on an arrest warrant for a government leader was in February 2023, when an application was filed against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The panel reached a decision. within 1 month that the application has been submitted;
