Former NSC official calls to defund ICCs kangaroo court: US will be next
Former National Security Council official Richard Goldberg joined Fox & Friends to discuss why he believes the ICC should be defunded after an ICC prosecutor accused Netanyahu of war crimes.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) should be defunded over its decision to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before it targets the United States, according to ex-National Security Council official Richard Goldberg.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced Monday that his office has "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders have committed "war crimes and crimes against humanity" since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7.
President Biden condemned the "outrageous" application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.
"This is not serious, this is not about the law… this is about lawfare, that is to use a system of law as a weapon of war. This is a kangaroo court that is supposedly a court of last resort, that is not targeting a democracy in Israel that has a functioning court system," Goldberg said Tuesday on "Fox & Friends."
ICC REQUESTS ARREST WARRANTS FOR NETANYAHU, HAMAS LEADERS OVER ‘ WAR CRIMES’
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks out against the ICC's announcement to pursue an arrest warrant against him over alleged war crimes in Gaza. (Government Press Office)
The former Trump administration official noted that Israel "never signed the treaty" that would make it subject to ICC rules.
"If you’re a democracy, you have a functioning court system, you have various ways of holding yourself accountable, just like we do in the United States. You’re not supposed to be subject to their jurisdiction," Goldberg said.
"So, what have they done? They’ve gone and interviewed Hamas, they’ve gone and interviewed Hamas allies in Gaza and said, ‘Oh, we have the evidence now, we can indict the Israeli prime minister, the defense minister,’" he continued.
"It’s hogwash."
DEMOCRATS DIVIDED OVER ICC PROSECUTOR SEEKING ARREST WARRANTS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are pictured in the West Bank in August 2023. (Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Goldberg then suggested the United States could be next.
"There is an active investigation by the ICC into American soldiers for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan," he said. "So, if we want to stand by and watch… this kangaroo court start indictments against democracies that aren’t even members of the court, we’re going to be next."
Co-host Steve Doocy pointed out that, like Israel, the U.S. is not a member of the ICC. He said the group has a budget north of $200 million for 2024 and its biggest donors are Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France.
"Remember, President Trump actually did issue an executive order to threaten sanctions against the officials at the ICC, as at the time, four years ago… looking at this type of action targeting either Israel or the United States, and they did back off," Goldberg said.
"President Biden withdrew that executive order so now we’re left with no tools right now to pressure this organization, or its funders, so we need to reconstitute that sanctions regime, not just targeting Karim Khan the prosecutor and other officials there, but also targeting the money flow," he continued.
"Our financial sanctions, if we impose them on the ICC itself, would say to any bank, ‘You can’t process a transaction for this kangaroo court, you can’t fund and finance and allow money to flow to lawfare against the United States and Israel.’"
BIDEN SLAMS ICC’S ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ REQUEST FOR NETANYAHU ARREST WARRANT
Goldberg said the U.S. should go to its closest allies, like Japan and Germany, and urge them to stop funding the ICC.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also took aim at the ICC’s announcement, saying in a separate statement Monday that the State Department rejects the prosecutor’s "equivalence of Israel with Hamas," calling it "shameful."
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Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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