Blinken ready to work with Congress on possible ICC sanctions | American foreign policy

The Biden administration is ready to work with Congress to possibly impose sanctions against International Criminal Court officials following the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over the Gaza war, Antony Blinken said Tuesday , the Secretary of State.

At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Republican Lindsey Graham told Blinken he wants to see renewed U.S. sanctions against the court in response to the decision announced Monday by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan.

“I want action, not just words,” Graham told Blinken. “Will you support (a) bipartisan effort to sanction the ICC, not only for outrage against Israel but to protect, going forward, our own interests?

“I’m happy to work with you on this,” Blinken said.

Khan said in his announcement that he had reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli defense chief and three Hamas leaders “bear criminal responsibility” for war crimes and crimes against humanity presumed.

Joe Biden and his political opponents sharply criticized Khan’s announcement, arguing that the court does not have jurisdiction over the Gaza conflict and raising concerns about the process.

The United States is not a member of the court but has supported prosecutions in the past, including the ICC’s decision last year to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, over the war in Ukraine.

At an earlier hearing Tuesday, Blinken said he would work with Congress on an appropriate response, calling the ICC’s decision “deeply flawed.” That would complicate the chances of reaching a hostage deal and a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Blinken said.

Republican members of Congress have already threatened legislation to impose sanctions on the ICC, but a measure cannot become law without the support of Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats, who control the Senate.

In 2020, Donald Trump’s administration accused the ICC of encroaching on US national sovereignty by authorizing an investigation into war crimes committed in Afghanistan. The United States targeted judicial personnel, including then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, by freezing their assets and banning them from traveling.

Biden lifted these sanctions in April 2021, shortly after taking office.

“These decisions reflect our assessment that the measures adopted were inappropriate and ineffective,” Blinken said in a statement at the time.