Washington, DC – In response to a recent decision that prevented Israel from attempting to stop a Gaza war crimes investigation, the United States has instituted a new round of sanctions against staff members at the International Criminal Court.
Two judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, are the subject of Thursday’s sanctions.
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Without Israel’s permission, the judges “have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals,” according to US Secretary of State Rubio in a statement.
Lordkipanidze and Damdin were also criticized for “voting with the majority” on December 15 when the ICC rejected Israel’s request to put a stop to the war crimes investigation.
Israel’s allies have continued to provide the US with billions in military and economic aid in support of its genocidal war in Gaza.
Rubio said in the statement that “the ICC has continued to conduct politicized actions against Israel, which have created a risky precedent for all countries.”
The administration of US President Donald Trump has placed a number of economic restrictions on ICC members and their associates, just the latest of a long line.
Critics warn that such actions could stifle international investigations and have a wide-ranging impact on witnesses, judges, and prosecutors.
For instance, the Trump administration imposed broad sanctions against ICC staff and anyone who assists the court’s investigations against the US and its allies in February.
Judges and prosecutors were subject to individual sanctions by the Trump White House, which it continued to support.
Four judges received sanctions in June, two of whom participated in investigations involving US personnel in Afghanistan. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister, were the subjects of the arrest warrants that were issued.
The US then took action against two more judges and two ICC prosecutors in August, extending the sanctions.
Due to their participation in the ICC investigations, even organizations outside the ICC have been subject to economic sanctions.
Al Haq, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights will also face sanctions for aiding the ICC in “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals,” according to Rubio in September.
The court referred to the most recent US actions as a “flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution” in a statement released on Thursday. Despite US pressure, it still pledged to carry out its mandate.
The international legal order itself is in danger when judicial actors are threatened with doing so, it said.
The ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza was partially sparked by the sanctions.
Additionally, several Hamas leaders were wanted for arrest after being killed in Israeli operations.
The Trump administration has also pressed the Supreme Court to formally dismiss an investigation into US forces’ actions during their two-decade deployment in Afghanistan.
The Trump administration contends that the ICC has overstepped its purview by investigating US and Israeli citizens because Israel and the US are not members.
Rubio stated on Thursday, “We will not tolerate ICC abuses of power that wrongly subject US and Israeli citizens to the ICC’s jurisdiction,” in line with Rubio’s statement.
However, the court has argued that it has the authority to look into allegations that two nations, including the occupied Palestinian territories, abused the people in their own countries.
Rubio is “coddling Israeli war criminals,” according to Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the human rights organization Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).
She further stated that the court should “not wait to prosecute him for bringing a case against him for breaking the law.”
Israeli authorities have praised the Trump administration’s sanctions in recent days. Since October 7, 2023, when a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel claimed the lives of 1, 139 people, Israel has killed at least 171, 152 Palestinians in its conflict there.
Source: Aljazeera
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