The United States is preparing to impose sanctions against officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to the Guardian UK, the U.S. is considering working with Congress to potentially sanction officials of the world’s top court.
This move follows the ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over the Gaza war.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken disclosed this development on Tuesday. During a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham expressed his desire to see renewed U.S. sanctions on the ICC.
“I want to take actions, not just words,” Graham told Blinken. “Will you support [a] bipartisan effort to sanction the ICC, not only for the outrage against Israel but to protect, in the future, our own interest?”
“I welcome working with you on that,” Blinken responded.
This comes after ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Monday the court’s move to arrest both Israeli and Hamas leaders. Khan stated he had reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s defense chief, and three Hamas leaders “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
