US threatens sanctions against International Criminal Court


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Bolton, a former United States ambassador to the United Nations, will launch a new campaign on Monday to punish countries and individuals who are trying to prosecute US personnel, the United States or its allies – particularly Israel – at the ICC, said the manager.

Bolton will call for the protection of these allies "by all means necessary" against the jurisdiction of the court based in the Netherlands, which the United States does not recognize.

The measures could include travel bans for ICC judges and prosecutors and a freeze on their assets, as well as those of other entities trying to bring the United States to court, said the responsible. All countries that help prosecutions risk losing their foreign aid.

The potential prosecution of US service personnel in Afghanistan is of paramount importance to the administration, he added.

Bolton is also expected to announce the closure of the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington, the official said. Bolton should tie his closure to the Palestinians' refusal to engage in the peace process and the threats of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to bring Israel to the ICC.

The United States ceases all funding from the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees

The PLO criticized the US administration for announcing the announcement and said the White House had already notified the decision.

"This dangerous escalation shows that the United States is willing to dissolve the international system to protect Israeli crimes and attacks against the Palestinian land and people, as well as peace and security in the rest of our region," said Secretary General of the PLO Erekat said in a statement.

"It is also extremely cruel and wicked to persist in deliberately attacking the Palestinian people by depriving them of their rights, by surrendering their lands and to the legitimate capital of Jerusalem, and by reimbursing UNRWA (Relief and Works Agency). Palestine refugees) institutions, including hospitals in East Jerusalem, "said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, in a statement.

Over the weekend, the United States announced that it would redirect $ 25 million originally planned for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network as part of their review of US aid to Palestinians.

Six hospitals will be affected, including the Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), which serves more than 5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, according to the hospital's website. The AVH also provides specialized care not available in the Palestinian territories, including radiation therapy for cancer patients and pediatric hemodialysis, according to the website.

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In a statement posted online, the LWF said it regretted the US announcement regarding hospitals, adding that funding for the facilities was extremely important.

"Funding for the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network is critical to ensuring continuity of treatment for patients in the West Bank and Gaza," said LWF General Secretary, Pastor Martin Junge. "We call the US administration and the US Congress, in the spirit of the Taylor Force exemption, and the international community urgently to address this critical situation so that the treatments lives can continue without interruption. "

The Taylor Force Act is a law passed by Congress early this year, linking future US funding to the Palestinian Authority to a demand that the Palestinian Authority stop paying the families of dead terrorists . "Supporters of the law said the payments were an" incitement to commit acts of terror "- but the law exempts US funding for hospitals in East Jerusalem.
Last month, the United States also announced that they were going to cut the funds to UNRWA, the UN agency that provides schools and health care services to more than five millions of Palestinian refugees.
The US attack on the ICC is the latest challenge launched by the Trump administration to international institutions. This year alone, he left the United Nations Human Rights Council and threatened to withdraw from the World Trade Organization. Last year, the United States withdrew from the Paris climate agreement.
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