WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday, shortly after the International Criminal Court announced it would begin a preliminary examination of Israel’s actions during last summer’s Operation Protective Edge, following the Palestinian Authority’s allegations of Israeli war crimes. Netanyahu reportedly asked Kerry to offer a strident response to this first step on the potentially long and complex road to indictments, and the State Department indeed promptly issued an emphatic denunciation of the ICC’s move. Get The Times of Israels Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories FREE SIGN UP! The question is whether there’s much more the US can do. Short of invading The Hague, that is. Washington is deeply unhappy with the ICC’s decision, and its fervent opposition to the probe extends beyond a simple show of support for Israel. The US is not a member of the international tribunal and has historically been wary of it. America’s relations with the court have demonstrated significant concern that The Hague’s critical lens could be turned toward American military actions as well. The current preliminary examination creates a potentially dangerous precedent for the United States: an ICC probe launched against a Western non-member state. Due to concerns surrounding the potential prosecution of American leaders and military personnel, the United States disassociated itself from the ICC in 2002, when president George W. Bush informed the United Nations’ Secretary General that the US recognized no obligation to the court’s governing Rome Statute. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (R) signs a request to join 15 United Nations-linked and other international treaties at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 (photo credit: AFP/Abbas Monami) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (R) signs a request to join 15 United Nations-linked and other international treaties at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 (photo credit: AFP/Abbas Monami) As a non-member, the United States does not directly fund the ICC – and thus cannot defund it in response to the newly-launched probe. But the administration does have at least one recourse on US law: it can invade the Hague. Read more: Short of invading The Hague, not much US can do to thwart ICC probe of Israel | The Times of Israel timesofisrael/short-of-invading-the-hague-not-much-us-can-do-to-thwart-icc-probe-of-israel/#ixzz3PLDVGdMG Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 06:39:45 +0000
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