Pompeo: ICC’s Israel case is illegitimate prosecution

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement on Friday, calling the International Criminal Court (ICC) “a political body, not a judicial institution.” Pompeo said that the case against Israel at the ICC is an illegitimate prosecution.

“This unfortunate reality has been confirmed yet again by the ICC Prosecutor’s attempt to assert jurisdiction over Israel, which like the United States, is not a party to the Rome Statute that created the Court,” Pompeo’s statement reads.

“On April 30, the ICC Prosecutor re-affirmed her attempt to exercise jurisdiction over the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza through a new filing to the Court,” Pompeo continued. “As we made clear when the Palestinians purported to join the Rome Statute, we do not believe the Palestinians qualify as a sovereign state, and they, therefore, are not qualified to obtain full membership or participate as a state in international organizations, entities or conferences, including the ICC.”

Pompeo noted that the seven states that are party to the Rome Statute – Australia, Austria, Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Uganda – have made formal submissions to the Court that assert that the ICC does not have jurisdiction to proceed with this investigation.

“We concur,” Pompeo added. “A court that attempts to exercise its power outside its jurisdiction is a political tool that makes a mockery of the law and due process. The United States reiterates its longstanding objection to any illegitimate ICC investigations. If the ICC continues down its current course, we will exact consequences.”

Earlier this week, a large, bipartisan group of 69 senators and 262 House representatives sent a letter to Pompeo, urging him to call on the ICC to halt its investigation regarding the US and Israel, saying it was politically motivated.

“We believe the prosecutor’s decision to investigate the Israeli-Palestinian situation and request to the Pre-Trial Chamber to determine the court’s jurisdiction over disputed territories constitutes a dangerous politicization of the court and distorts the purposes for which the court was established,” the members of Congress said.

The group argued that the ICC should only be a “last resort for the prosecution of the most serious international crimes.”

It noted that the Palestinian Authority is not a state, and therefore, “does not meet the criteria to qualify” to bring allegations against another country.