Washington: The White House said it opposes the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.
The White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday said Washington did “not support” the investigations and “we don’t believe that they have the jurisdiction.”
Jean-Pierre was asked whether potential arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials could torpedo the negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Asked several times, the spokeswoman stuck to her short answer and said: “I’ll leave it at that.”
Israeli media had previously reported that Netanyahu feared that Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan could issue international arrest warrants for him, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi this week.
The court in The Hague, Netherlands, has been investigating the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian organisation Hamas for alleged war crimes in the Palestinian Territories – the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem – since 2021.
Palestine has been a state party since 2015. In 2021, the court determined that it also has jurisdiction over the territories occupied since 1967, such as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Neither the US nor Israel recognise the court.
Investigations are also underway into acts of violence committed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
An ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu and other Israeli citizens would mean that countries that have signed Curt’s statutes would be obliged to arrest these individuals and transfer them to The Hague – provided the individuals are on their territory.
–IANS