US plans to sanction ICC expose complicity in Gaza genocide: Cuban FM

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Social media
5 Jun 2024 19:38

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez highlights that "Israel has murdered 15,438 children in Gaza."

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Cuba´s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez speaks during a press conference in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. (AP)

The US Congress' intentions to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICJ) exposes the United States' complicity in the genocide against the Gaza Strip, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez pointed out on Wednesday.

On his official account on X, Rodriguez highlighted that "Israel has murdered 15,438 children in Gaza," adding that "3,500 children are at risk of dying from hunger, lack of vaccines and blockage of humanitarian aid."

Gobierno Israel ha asesinado 15.438 niños en #Gaza.

3.500 niños están en riesgo de morir por hambre, falta de vacunas y bloqueo de ayuda humantaria.

Mientras, Congreso EEUU pretende imponer sanciones a fiscales de @CIJ_ICJ, acción que delata su complicidad con este genocidio. pic.twitter.com/rpVeH5YSFQ
— Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) June 5, 2024

While the Cuban Foreign Minister referred to the ICJ in his tweet, it is the ICC that is facing possible sanctions from the US.

His remarks come after the US House of Representatives voted Tuesday to advance a bill calling for sanctions against the ICC after its top prosecutor Karim Khan said last month that he was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Security Minister Yoav Gallant, on suspicions of war crimes in Gaza.

Backed by almost every Republican and around a fifth of the Democrats, the so-called "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act" would bar US entry for ICC officials involved with the case, revoking their visas and restricting any US-based property transactions.

The full House is expected to pass the bill later this week and send it to the Senate, where Democratic leaders are likely to ignore it after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced last week that while President Joe Biden's administration supports some response to the ICC’s plans, it does not favor sanctioning the court.

"We fundamentally reject the ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders," Jean-Pierre stressed.

"Sanctions on the ICC, however, we do not believe is an effective or an appropriate path forward," she added.

The administration reiterated this stance in a policy statement on Monday, expressing "strong" opposition to the legislation but stopping short of threatening a veto if it reaches Biden’s desk.

The statement said the Biden administration is "deeply concerned" about what it called "the ICC Prosecutor’s heedless rush to apply for arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials" but pointed out that "there are more effective ways to defend Israel, preserve U.S. positions on the ICC, and promote international justice and accountability, and the Administration stands ready to work with the Congress on those options."

Netanyahu said in an interview broadcast Sunday he is "surprised and disappointed" that Biden won't pursue sanctions against the ICC, considering that the US President previously called the application for arrest warrants "outrageous".

It remains unclear what alternative punitive measures the White House might propose, given that the US has never ratified the ICC’s charter, does not recognize its jurisdiction over American citizens, and does not fund its operations.