WASHINGTON: The Biden administration is willing to work with Congress to respond to the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over the Gaza war, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday, amid Republican calls for US sanctions against court officials.
Speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Blinken called the move “profoundly wrong-headed” and said it would complicate the prospects of reaching a hostage deal and a ceasefire in Israel’s conflict with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said on Monday 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.
Both President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and his political opponents have sharply criticized Khan’s announcement, arguing the court does not have jurisdiction over the Gaza conflict and raising concerns over process.
The United States is not a member of the court, but has supported past prosecutions, including the ICC’s decision last year to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.
“We’ll be happy to work with Congress, with this committee, on an appropriate response” to the ICC move, Blinken said on Tuesday.
He did not say what a response to the ICC move might include.
In a later hearing, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Blinken he hoped to work together with the administration to express the United States’ opposition to the ICC prosecutor.
“What I hope to happen is that we level sanctions against the ICC for this outrage, to not only help our friends in Israel but protect ourself over time,” said Graham.
Republican members of Congress have previously threatened legislation to impose sanctions on the ICC, but a measure cannot become law without support from President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats, who control the Senate.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump’s administration accused the ICC of infringing on US national sovereignty when it authorized an investigation into war crimes committed in Afghanistan. The US targeted court staff, including then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, with asset freezes and travel bans.
Blinken says he’ll work with US Congress to respond to ICC move on Gaza
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Blinken says he’ll work with US Congress to respond to ICC move on Gaza
- The United States is not a member of the court, but has supported past prosecutions, including the ICC’s decision last year to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine
Chinese carrier conducting intense air operations near Japan, Tokyo says
- Japan on Sunday summoned China’s ambassador to protest “dangerous” and “regrettable” acts by the carrier’s planes
- The Chinese embassy responded that Japanese aircraft had endangered flight safety by approaching the carrier
TOKYO: A Chinese carrier strike group sailing close to Japan kept up intense air operations on Sunday as it sailed into the Pacific Ocean east of the Okinawa Islands, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces said Monday.
The naval drills came amid growing tension between the East Asian neighbors and triggered a flurry of protests, with Tokyo accusing Beijing on Sunday of dangerous behavior. Japan said fighters from the Liaoning aircraft carrier aimed radar beams at Japanese jets scrambled to shadow its movements.
Illuminating an aircraft with a radar beam signals a potential attack that may force targeted planes to take evasive action.
Aircraft aboard the carrier conducted around 100 takeoffs and landings over the weekend, Japan’s SDF said.
Japan on Sunday summoned China’s ambassador, Wu Jianghao, to protest “dangerous” and “regrettable” acts by the carrier’s planes.
Japan will “respond calmly but firmly and continue to monitor the movements of Chinese forces in the waters around our country,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a regular press briefing on Monday.
The Chinese embassy in a statement denied Tokyo’s claims, saying that Japanese aircraft had endangered flight safety by approaching the carrier as it conducted training with its three missile-destroyer escorts.
“China solemnly demands that Japan stop smearing and slandering, strictly restrain its frontline actions, and prevent similar incidents from happening again,” it said.
Kihara rejected the claim that Japan’s aircraft endangered flight safety on the carrier.
The encounters marked the most serious run-ins between the two militaries in years and risk worsening relations already strained after Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned that Tokyo could respond to any Chinese action against Taiwan that threatened Japan’s security.
