The U.S. sanctions four ICC judges over the investigation into Israel

Washington.- United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio sanctioned four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday for the investigation being carried out against Israel following the Gaza war.

This is a new round of sanctions against that body by the Donald Trump Administration, which in February sanctioned the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan.

The judges sanctioned today by Rubio are Solomy Balungi Bossa, from Uganda; Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, from Peru; Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou, from Benin; and Beti Hohler, from Slovenia.

According to the State Department, these “individuals participated in the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute citizens of the United States or Israel, without the consent of the latter.”

“The United States will take all measures it deems necessary to protect its sovereignty, that of Israel, and that of any other U.S. ally against illegitimate actions by the ICC,” he noted.

Last February, Trump signed an executive order to impose sanctions on ICC officials, an organization that issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

The ICC, which was created through the Rome Statute, is an international court with the mission of trying individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and aggression.

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However, key countries such as the United States, China, Russia, and Israel are not members of the Court and, therefore, do not recognize its jurisdiction nor support it when it comes to cases that affect them or their allies.

When crimes are committed in the territory of a member country, such as Palestine, the ICC does have jurisdiction to open an investigation, even if the perpetrators are nationals of a non-member country.