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The ICC Warrants for Israeli Leaders Threaten U.S. National Security

(X) Orde F. Kittrie - There is no factual or legal basis for the ICC warrants against top Israeli officials. The warrants are clearly driven by politics and the same anti-Israel animus that has long dominated the UN and other international organizations. These filings should be treated as lawfare, a political vendetta masquerading as a legal proceeding. The ICC has not issued arrest warrants for the Islamic Republic of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The ICC has only concocted a specious jurisdiction claim for Israel, in an outrageous abuse of power. Since the ICC's founding in 2002, every U.S. administration, of both parties, has refused to join the court, fearing the ICC's politicization and misuse. Both the Biden and Trump administrations and over 330 Members of Congress from both parties have rejected ICC investigations of the U.S. and Israel in the past. NSC Spokesperson John Kirby said on April 30, "We don't believe the ICC has any jurisdiction here." The ICC warrants for Israeli leaders threaten U.S. national security. The warrants set a dangerous precedent for U.S. officials and troops. The ICC has an open investigation of alleged U.S. war crimes relating to Afghanistan. That Afghanistan investigation could lead to the arrest, prosecution, and detention of American military personnel and veterans in foreign countries. The ICC is largely funded by key American allies whose security depends on U.S. troops. By funding the ICC's legally and factually baseless attack on Israel, these allies weaken American security and put at risk the very U.S. troops that defend those key allies. Congress should urge those key allies to use their leverage to halt these outrageous warrants. 2/3 of the ICC budget is provided by Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy, and South Korea. The writer, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, is a law professor at Arizona State University.
2024-11-26 00:00:00
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