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The United States and Israel had previously condemned the Hague-based court for opening the door to an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged US President Joe Biden not to lift the sanctions imposed on officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the administration of former President Donald Trump, according to an Axios report. .
The Biden administration had pledged to “thoroughly review” the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, which accused the Hague-based court of infringing on US sovereignty by authorizing an investigation into alleged war crimes by US forces in Afghanistan.
Israel has increased pressure on the ICC following its ruling in early February that the court’s jurisdiction extends to the occupied Palestinian territories, paving the way for it to open investigations into war crimes committed by both Israelis and Palestinians, according to the report.
Israel and the United States were quick to condemn the court’s announcement, Israel accused the court of “pure anti-Semitism” and the United States said it had “serious concerns” about the court’s decision, adding that it was reviewing the ruling.
Neither allies are party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, and both have sought to protect their citizens from prosecution in court.
Washington, however, has supported and collaborated with the court in various ways since it began operating in 2002.
The fight for court jurisdiction has presented an early challenge for the Biden administration, which is seeking to re-engage in multilateral organizations.
Israel, meanwhile, has reportedly urged its allies to pressure ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, one of the officials currently under US sanctions, not to move forward with any investigation involving Israelis.
On February 13, British lawyer Karim Khan was elected as the next ICC prosecutor to replace Bensouda, who retires in June. Khan, 50, led a United Nations investigation into atrocities committed by the armed group ISIL (ISIS).
Axios reported that Israeli diplomats are urging US officials to keep sanctions as leverage and that the issue was also raised during a call between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Israeli counterpart Gabriel Ashkenazi.
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