לאחר הסנקציות האמריקניות, האיחוד האירופי מתייצב לצד בית הדין בהאג

The European Union has thrown its support behind the International Criminal Court and against the United States for its sanctions on four ICC judges. Our Washington correspondent Luis Adoro Martinez has more on this story. The European Commission has expressed its support of the International Criminal Court after the Trump administration issued sanctions against four ICC judges who according to the State Department directly engaged in activities to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel without the consent of the United States or Israel. Commission fully supports the International Criminal Court and its officials that this court holds perpetrators of the world's gravest crimes to account and gives victims a voice. It must be free to act without pressure. We will always stand for global justice and the respect of international law. The European Commission went as far as promising to protect the International Criminal Court staff from the impacts of the sanctions but did not mention any specific actions. The ICC, we have a clear position, it is the cornerstone of the international justice and the fight against impunity. We deeply regret the decision to impose sanctions on four additional individuals and we will provide also the full support and contribution to ensure the protection of the court and its staff. The United States State Department reiterated in a statement that the United States and Israel do not form part of the Rome Statute which outlines the jurisdiction and powers of the International Criminal Court. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the ICC politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies. The sanctions will block any assets the judges have in the U.S. and forbid U.S. entities from engaging in transactions with them. The International Criminal Court issued last November arrest warrants against Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant for actions in the Israeli-Hamas conflict. The ICC has also launched an investigation against U.S. officials for actions that happened during the Afghanistan war. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News.