(From left to right) Keir Starmer, Antony Blinken and Joe Biden at the NATO summit in Washington D.C., July 11, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
The United States plans to challenge the International Criminal Court's (ICC) authority to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, according to Middle East Eye.
A source cited by the UK-based media outlet said Washington, which is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, aims to intervene as an amicus curiae — a party not directly involved in a case but offering information or opinions to assist the court — to voice "staunch opposition" to Prosecutor Karim Khan's decision to seek arrest warrants.
The State Department declined to comment on the reports.
In late May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan filed a request for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as against three leaders of the Palestinian Hamas movement. The request is currently under review by the ICC's pre-trial chamber judges.
In a statement released after the ICC announced it was seeking the warrants, the United States called the decision "outrageous."