ICC Prosecutor Says Work 'Undermined' by Threats

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Facts

  • International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan said Friday that the court's 'independence and impartiality' have been undermined as 'individuals threaten to retaliate against the court or against court personnel' for decisions in cases.1
  • This comes as Axios reported that a bipartisan group of US senators held a virtual meeting with senior officials at the ICC to express their concern over potential arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.2
  • The ICC is reportedly planning to issue arrest warrants for Israeli military and political officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on suspicion of war crimes in Gaza.3
  • On Monday, US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the potential arrest warrants would be 'disgraceful' and 'lawless' and could set a precedent for the international court to issue arrest warrants against American officials.4
  • Bloomberg News reported this week that the US, which has never been a party to the ICC, and its G7 allies fear that these arrest warrants could jeopardize a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.5
  • The ICC probe into possible war crimes in Gaza was launched three years ago, going back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, and is separate from a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.6

Sources: 1Truthout, 2The Cradle, 3BBC News, 4Axios, 5Bloomberg and 6Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by aa.com.tr. Threats against the ICC are nothing new, dating back to when the Trump administration sanctioned Karim Khan and other ICC staff. The US, however, is not a member of the ICC and thus has no right to meddle in its business. The ICC does have jurisdiction over Gaza and East Jerusalem, so if it decides to take action against Israel's genocide, it will be justified in the eyes of all 124 ICC member states.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Hill. The ICC is prosecuting Israel for defending itself against the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust, a defensive war in which Israel has bent over backward to ensure it limits civilian casualties and provides humanitarian aid. The ICC should drop this bad faith prosecution and focus on someone like Bashar al-Assad in Syria — who has killed over 500K of his people.

Predictions