The warning was direct, blunt and left no room for doubt. "We expect all ICC actions against the United States and our ally Israel – that is, all investigations and all arrest warrants – to be terminated," said Reed Rubinstein, legal adviser at the US State Department, before delegates of the 125 member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday, July 8, at a meeting at United Nations headquarters in New York from July 7 to 9. If the ICC arrest warrants for crimes against humanity and war crimes issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on November 21, 2024, as well as ongoing investigations into crimes committed in the Gaza Strip and the settlement of Palestinian territory, are not dropped, "all options remain on the table," he declared.

For three days, member states debated expanding ICC jurisdiction to one day allow the prosecution of "crimes of aggression," defined as attacking a territory without a UN mandate or without acting in self-defense. The crime, which primarily targets heads of state, was described as a "crime against peace" by the Allies at the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi leaders after World War II. Invited as a non-member, the US used the platform to criticize the ICC and threaten its 125 member states. "We will use all appropriate and effective diplomatic, political and legal instruments to block ICC overreach," Rubinstein said.

You have 73.29% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.