Israel-Hamas war: Ceasefire prospects under pressure after Gaza City assault plan approval
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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
US sanctions more ICC judges, prosecutors for probes into alleged US, Israeli war crimes
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on the International Criminal Court for pursuing investigations into US and Israeli officials for alleged war crimes. The State Department on Wednesday (Aug 20) announced new sanctions on four ICC officials, who it said had been instrumental in efforts to prosecute US and Israeli citizens. The sanctions are just the latest in a series of steps the administration has taken against the Hague-based court, the world's first international war crimes tribunal. The US has already imposed penalties on the ICC's former chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who stepped aside in May pending an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct, and four other tribunal judges. In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had taken action against ICC judges Kimberly Prost of Canada and Nicolas Guillou of France and prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal. 'These individuals are foreign persons who directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation,' Rubio said. He added that the administration would continue 'to take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our troops, our sovereignty, and our allies from the ICC's illegitimate and baseless actions.' In a separate statement, the State Department said Prost was hit for ruling to authorise an ICC investigation into US personnel in Afghanistan, which was later dropped. Guillou was sanctioned for ruling to authorise the ICC's issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant related to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Khan and Niang were penalised for continuing Karim Khan's investigation into Israel's actions in Gaza, including upholding the ICC's arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, according to the statement. Wednesday's move carries on a history of Trump administration actions against the ICC, of which the US is not a member, dating back to his first term in office. During Trump's first term, the US hit the ICC with sanctions, but those were rescinded by President Joe Biden's administration in early 2021.
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Israeli settlement plan would mark 'flagrant' breach of international law, UK's Lammy says
LONDON: British foreign minister David Lammy said on Wednesday (Aug 20) that a widely condemned Israeli settlement plan would, if implemented, constitute a breach of international law and risk dividing a future Palestinian state. Israel says it is preparing to undertake a major settlement project to build 3,400 homes on an ultra-sensitive part of the West Bank. The E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, received the final go-ahead from a defence ministry planning commission on Wednesday. "If implemented, it would divide a Palestinian state in two, mark a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution," Lammy said in a post on X, calling on the Israeli government to reverse the decision. THREE MILLION PALESTINIANS LIVE IN THE WEST BANK Situated between Israel and Jordan, the West Bank covers 5,655 square kilometres. Not counting Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, nearly three million Palestinians live there, along with around 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are considered illegal under international law. The anti-settlement NGO Peace Now counted 147 settlements registered by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank as of the end of 2024. There are another 224 outposts that were set up without official authorisation. These outposts are regularly evacuated and dismantled by the Israeli security services, though they are also often legalised retroactively. NEW ISRAELI PLANS WOULD BREACH OSLO ACCORDS Under the Oslo Accords, signed in the 1990s by the Israelis and Palestinians, the West Bank is divided into three areas. Area A is run by the Palestinian Authority, B is under mixed Israeli and Palestinian jurisdiction, and C - comprising 60 per cent of the territory - is totally under Israeli control. The Israeli settlements and the Jordan Valley - a swath of farmland accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the West Bank, and home to some 10,000 settlers - are mostly in area C. They were at the centre of an annexation project that was officially put off in 2020 by Israel under international pressure, though far-right members of the current government have revived calls to extend Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank.
Straits Times
9 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump administration imposes fresh sanctions on four ICC officials
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, as Washington kept up its pressure on the war tribunal over its targeting of Israeli leaders. Washington designated Nicolas Yann Guillou of France, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji, Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal, and Kimberly Prost of Canada, according to the U.S. Treasury and State Department. ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. Guillou is an ICC judge who presided over a pre-trial panel that issued the arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Khan and Niang are the court's two deputy prosecutors. The move comes less than three months after the administration took the unprecedented step of slapping sanctions on four separate ICC judges, saying they have engaged in ICC's "illegitimate and baseless actions" targeting the U.S. and close ally Israel. ICC, which had slammed the move in June, describing it as an attempt to undermine the independence of the judicial institution, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ICC, which was established in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in member states or if a situation is referred by the U.N. Security Council. The United States, China, Russia, and Israel are not members. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 18 persons nabbed and 82 vapes seized in HSA ops in Raffles Place and Haji Lane Singapore 3 Sengkang Green Primary pupils suspended for bullying schoolmate, with 1 of them caned: MOE Singapore Woman trapped between train doors: Judge rules SBS Transit '100% responsible' Singapore Religion growing in importance for Singaporeans: IPS study Life 'Loss that's irreplaceable': Local film-makers mourn closure of Singapore indie cinema The Projector Singapore COE premiums up in all categories except motorcycles; Cat A price climbs 2.5% to $104,524 Singapore Nearly 2 years' jail, caning for man caught with at least 100 sexually explicit videos of children Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch It has high-profile war crimes investigations under way into the Israel-Hamas conflict and Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as in Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Venezuela, and Afghanistan. The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets the individuals may have and essentially cut them off from the U.S. financial system. REUTERS
