Threats Against Countries Duty-Bound to Implement Arrest Warrant by International Criminal Court
U.S. Senator Threatens Sanctions Against Britain, Canada, France, Germany
Washington DC demonstration against Netanyahu addressing U.S. Congress, July 24, 2024
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a major Trump supporter, has threatened U.S. allies with sanctions if they implement the arrest warrants for war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
"To any ally, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, if you try to help the ICC, we're going to sanction you," Graham told Fox News in an interview late on November 22. Expressing U.S. concerns, given the U.S. is equally guilty of genocide and war crimes in Palestine, he added: "We should crush your economy because we're next. Why can't they go after Trump or any other American president?"
While Graham cannot himself issue sanctions, Congress does have the authority to do so, and he is an influential member, backed by Trump.
Most members of Congress also condemned the ICC's actions, as did President Joe Biden. His spokeswoman said, "We fundamentally reject the court's decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials."
Congressman Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret who Trump is appointing to serve as his national security adviser, said, "The ICC has no credibility, and these allegations have been refuted by the U.S. government." He promised "a strong response" when the Trump administration takes office on January 20.
The crimes have been verified by many organizations worldwide, including in another United Nations report just issued by the UN Special Committee that investigates Israeli practices in Palestine. They are on display daily for all the world to see, with women and children brutally massacred and schools and hospitals destroyed. Gaza has eliminated any ability for the U.S. or Israel to claim they uphold human rights and shown both guilty of genocide.
Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, known for calling for the use of military force, including against U.S. protesters, called for invoking a U.S. law completely contrary to international law, nicknamed the "The Hague Invasion Act." The act, passed in 2002, authorizes the U.S. president to use "all means necessary and appropriate," which includes military force, to free Americans or allied individuals detained at the request of the ICC. Cotton is a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and on the Select Intelligence Committee, so he carries some weight.
Graham's comments followed news reports that Britain has indicated it will implement the arrest warrants if either Netanyahu or Gallant travel to Britain. The ICC's member countries, which include Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and other countries, are members with legal obligations. Palestine is also a member, while the U.S. and Israel refuse to be members.
While not commenting on the specific case, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, "The government would fulfill its obligations under the act and indeed its legal obligations." This refers to Britain's International Criminal Court Act 2001, which states that if the ICC issues a warrant for arrest, a designated minister "shall transmit the request to an appropriate judicial officer," who, if satisfied the warrant appears to have been issued by the ICC, "shall endorse the warrant for execution in the United Kingdom."
The Prime Minister's spokesperson confirmed the government stands by the process outlined in the act and would "always comply with its legal obligations as set out by domestic law and indeed international law."
Graham's threats came as NATO members were meeting in Montreal in NATO's annual Parliamentary Assembly. The threats are indicative of the contention and conflicts within NATO and between European countries and the U.S. in terms of continued support for U.S./Zionist genocide in Palestine. The U.S. thinks these threats will keep the forces united. They are likely to backfire, especially given the great anger and demands of the peoples for an end to the genocide and accountability for all those guilty, the U.S. and Israel first and foremost.
Abdullah Hammoud, the Mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, which borders Detroit and has one of the largest Arab American populations in the country, said the city would enforce the ICC warrants against Gallant and Netanyahu. "Dearborn will arrest Netanyahu [and] Gallant if they step within Dearborn city limits," Hammoud wrote in a social media post. "Other cities should declare the same. Our president may not take action, but city leaders can ensure Netanyahu [and] other war criminals are not welcome to travel freely across these United States."
Demands are being made worldwide that the genocide end and decisions of the international institutions including the ICC, the UN, and the International Court of Justice be implemented. All the countries that are signatories to the Convention on Genocide, the U.S. included, are obligated to intervene to stop genocide. It is the resistance that is upholding that obligation, in Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, standing against crimes and calling on all others to do the same. The failure of international institutions to end the genocide has also raised the necessity for developing new international relations and institutions of the peoples' own making.
This article was published in
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/ITN2024/Articles/TI54572.HTM
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