Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, has said the Biden administration is willing to work with Congress on potentially imposing sanctions against International Criminal Court officials. This follows the ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over the Gaza war.
At a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham pressed Blinken to support bipartisan legislation to sanction the ICC. Graham argued that action was needed not only for the “outrage against Israel” but also to protect US interests.
The ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced on Monday that he had reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s defence chief, and three Hamas leaders bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. President Joe Biden and his political opponents have criticised the move, questioning the court’s jurisdiction over the conflict.
The US is not a member of the ICC but has supported some of its actions, such as the warrant for Vladimir Putin. Republican lawmakers have previously threatened legislation to impose sanctions on the court, but such a measure would require support from President Biden and his fellow Democrats, who control the Senate. In 2020, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on ICC staff, including asset freezes and travel bans, which Biden lifted in April 2021, calling them “inappropriate and ineffective”.
