Pompeo threatens ICC of ‘consequences’ for potential war crimes probe of ‘Israel’
Pompeo said the United States will “exact consequences” for any “illegitimate” investigations
Washington (QNN)- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday threatened the International Criminal Court against asserting jurisdiction over the occupation state, claiming the United States will “exact consequences” for any “illegitimate” investigations.
Pompeo’s warning came after the ICC prosecutor stressed that Palestine is a state with the ability to submit complaints that could trigger probes into war crimes committed by the occupation state in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip.
Pompeo said the US does not “believe the Palestinians qualify as a sovereign state.”
“The United States reiterates its longstanding objection to any illegitimate ICC investigations,” Pompeo added. “If the ICC continues down its current course, we will exact consequences.”
ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said late last year her years-long examination into Palestinian affairs provided her with a “reasonable basis to believe that war crimes were committed” by ‘Israel’.
On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of US House and Senate legislators sent letters to Pompeo urging him to defend the occupation state against ICC investigations, claiming the ICC’s assertion amounts to a “politicization” of the court’s mission.
Pompeo’s statement comes two days after his trip to the occupation state for a meeting with Netanyahu to discuss Israeli plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
US President Donald Trump’s administration maintains a tense relationship with the ICC, having previously revoked Bensouda’s visa when she intended on investigating potential war crimes by US soldiers in Afghanistan.
