UN criticises new US sanctions on the ICC
The United Nations says new US sanctions against members of the International Criminal Court will undermine justice. In announcing the measures, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the ICC a 'national security threat' for its efforts to arrest Israeli leaders over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Video Duration 02 minutes 03 seconds 02:03
Video Duration 00 minutes 51 seconds 00:51
Video Duration 01 minutes 19 seconds 01:19
Video Duration 00 minutes 45 seconds 00:45
Video Duration 00 minutes 24 seconds 00:24
Video Duration 02 minutes 33 seconds 02:33
Video Duration 01 minutes 39 seconds 01:39
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
4 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Israel approves illegal settlement plan
agencies west bank Israel has given final approval for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank that experts say would damage plans for any future territorially contiguous Palestinian state in the territory. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who announced the plan on August 14, hailed the decision as 'historic' and framed the approval as a rebuke to Western countries that announced their plans to recognise a Palestinian state in recent weeks. 'The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,' Smotrich, a settler himself, said on Wednesday. 'Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.' Settlement development in E1, an open tract of Palestinian land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to United States pressure during previous administrations. Israel's settlement-building in occupied territory is considered illegal under international law. Infrastructure work in E1 could begin in the next few months and construction of homes could start in about a year. The plan includes about 3,500 apartments that would be situated next to the existing settlement of Maale Adumim. 'I am pleased to announce that just a short while ago, the civil administration approved the planning for the construction of the E1 neighbourhood,' the mayor of Maale Adumim, Guy Yifrach, said in a statement on Wednesday. The location of E1 is significant because it is one of the last geographical links between the major West Bank cities of Ramallah, in the north, and Bethlehem, in the south. The two cities are 22 kilometres (14 miles) apart, but Palestinians travelling between them must take a wide detour and pass through multiple Israeli checkpoints. The hope among advocates for a Palestinian state was that the region would serve as a direct link between the cities. 'The settlement in E1 has no purpose other than to sabotage a political solution,' said Peace Now, an organisation that tracks settlement expansion in the West Bank. 'While the consensus among our friends in the world is to strive for peace and a two-state solution, a government that long ago lost the people's trust is undermining the national interest, and we are all paying the price.' Last week, the United Nations urged Israel to reverse its decision to start work on the settlement. 'It would put an end to prospects of a two-state solution,' UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters. 'Settlements go against international law … [and] further entrench the occupation.' Breaking the Silence, an Israeli rights group established by former Israeli soldiers, had also last week called the plan a land grab which 'will not only further fragment the Palestinian territory, but will further entrench apartheid'. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and has promised to maintain open-ended control over the occupied West Bank, annexed East Jerusalem, and war-ravaged Gaza – territories Israel seized in 1967. More than 700,000 Israeli settlers now live on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Qatar Tribune
4 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Germany leaves Moscow, Kiev to decide summit venue as Budapest mooted
Jakarta: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Wednesday it was up to Moscow and Kiev to decide where Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky might meet as speculation swirled that Budapest will be the venue. 'The discussions, including the procedure, are being shaped by Russia and Ukraine, not by the German foreign minister from Jakarta,' he told journalists while in the Indonesian capital. US President Donald Trump, who last week met Putin in Alaska and then hosted Zelensky and European leaders in Washington on Monday, is also expected to attend any summit between the pair. The US Secret Service, responsible for Trump's security, is already making preparations for a trip to Budapest, according to the website Politico. Switzerland had previously said it was prepared to host the possible talks on ending the war in Ukraine despite the arrest warrant issued against Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC). (DPA)
Qatar Tribune
4 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
US imposes further sanctions on ICC judges
Washington: The US government is imposing sanctions on further judges and prosecutors from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move was taken 'in response to the ICC's ongoing threat to Americans and Israelis.'Rubio said the four individuals were involved in ICC efforts 'to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation.' Kimberly Prost from Canada, Nicolas Guillou from France, Nazhat Shameem Khan from Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang from Senegal were placed on the sanctions list. Rubio accused the court of 'politicization, abuse of power, disregard for [US] national sovereignty and illegitimate judicial overreach,' calling it a 'national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and [its] close ally Israel.' As a result of the sanctions, any property of the four individuals in the United States will be frozen. In addition, US companies and US citizens are no longer allowed to do business with them. There was no mention of an entry ban. Washington previously imposed sanctions on four iCC judges in June. The court has been prosecuting the most serious crimes, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, since 2002. All EU member states are members of the court. However, the United States, Israel and Russia are not signatories. (DPA)
