Washington strongly denounced, on Wednesday March 3, the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into the alleged crimes attributed in particular to Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories. “We strongly oppose the announcement by ICC prosecutors of an investigation into the Palestinian situation and we are disappointed with it,” State Department spokesman Ned Price reacted. “We will continue to strongly support Israel and its security, including opposing actions that unjustly target Israel,” he added. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated this claim in a tweet a few hours later.
The United States firmly opposes an @IntlCrimCourt investigation into the Palestinian Situation. We will continue t … https://t.co/4rrWZEPoe7
The State Department supported this reaction with its legal interpretation of the situation. “The United States has always considered that the jurisdiction of the Court must be confined to the countries which grant it, or in the event of referral by the Security Council of the United Nations”, said Ned Price, recalling that this is not the case of Israel. This criticism had already been put forward on February 5, when the International Criminal Court had ruled that it had jurisdiction.
“As we made clear when the Palestinians claimed to join [à la Cour pénale internationale, en 2015], we do not believe that they can be considered as a sovereign state, and therefore, they are not qualified to become members as a state or participate as a state in international organizations and entities “, then estimated the State Department.
“A viable two-state solution”
Given Washington’s strained relationship with the International Criminal Court, created by a treaty the United States has never ratified, this reaction is not surprising. It was simply less brutal than if Donald Trump’s administration had always been in power. Under the aegis of the Republican president, his third national security adviser, John Bolton, had indeed launched in 2018 a violent offensive against the ICC, judged “Ineffective, irresponsible and downright dangerous”. He had threatened her with legal action and financial sanctions over the opening of an investigation into alleged abuses involving American soldiers in Afghanistan.
Washington’s reaction on Wednesday also highlights the limits that the new Democratic administration intends to set in questioning the position extremely favorable to Israel, adopted during his mandate by Donald Trump. This recalibration was evident with the reluctance of the White House tenant to speak on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his arrival in the Oval Office on January 20. The latter had to wait until February 17.
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