Trump may impose sanctions on British lawyer handling Netanyahu ICC case, report says

Donald Trump is reportedly considering sanctions on the British lawyer who led the investigation into the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu In the International Criminal Court (ICC).

US officials condemn ICC following this incident Arrest warrant issued for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defense minister, over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.

British lawyer and ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan He first asked the court to issue an arrest warrant earlier this year in May.

On Thursday, the three-judge panel unanimously voted to publish those decisions.

In response to the arrests, Trump’s future national security adviser Mike Waltz said the court “has no credibility” and promised a “strong response” to the ICC when Trump takes office in January.

British jurist and ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan first asked the court to issue the arrest warrant in May earlier this year. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

As reported by TelegramMr Khan is thought to be among the officials who could be sanctioned by the Trump administration.

Senior Republican politicians also called for sanctions; including Michael McCaul, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, who called for the Senate to immediately pass legislation to impose sanctions on the officials.

However, the UK appears to have taken a different approach towards the US after the ICC issued an arrest warrant.

Asked whether Netanyahu would be arrested if he visits the UK, Number 10 refused to comment publicly on the individual case, saying it was a hypothetical situation, but said: UK will fulfill its legal obligations.

No 10 said the domestic process linked to ICC arrest warrants had never been used by the UK, as no one wanted by the international court had visited the country.

US officials condemned the ICC, which issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant due to allegations of war crimes in Gaza. (EPA)

Asked whether a foreign secretary would comply with the requirements under the International Criminal Court Act 2001, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: “Yes, the government will comply with its obligations under the Act and indeed its legal obligations.”

The law states that when the Secretary of State receives a request for an arrest from the ICC, he must “transmit the request and accompanying documents to an appropriate judicial officer.”

The spokesman also said Sir Keir would continue to meet with Mr Netanyahu “with a view to carrying out the essential work of reaching a ceasefire in the Middle East”.

While EU heavyweights Germany and France refused to say what they would do if the Israeli leader entered their territory, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban promised to oppose the arrest warrant.

The ICC found Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant “for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and crimes against humanity consisting of murder, cruelty and other inhuman acts”.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Yoav Gallant (top left), Benjamin Netanyahu (top right) and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif (bottom right). The attorney general withdrew his arrest request for two other senior Hamas figures, Yahya Sinwar (below center) and Ismail Haniyeh (below left), after they were both killed in combat. Israel said it also killed Deif in an airstrike (Getty) (Getty)

The ICC pre-trial panel also found “reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant are each criminally liable as civilian superiors for the war crime of directing a deliberate attack on civilian populations.”

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’s armed wing, for the October 7, 2023 attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

Israel is believed to have killed Deif in an airstrike, but Hamas has never confirmed his death.

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