The US “will continue to uphold our strong commitment to Israel and its security, including by opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly.”
WASHINGTON – The US is “firmly opposes and [is] disappointed by the ICC prosecutor’s announcement of an investigation into the Palestinian situation,” said Ned Price, the State Department’s spokesperson.
Speaking at the department’s press briefing, Price said that the US “will continue to uphold our strong commitment to Israel and its security, including by opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly.”
“The ICC has no jurisdiction over this matter,” he continued. “Israel is not a party to the ICC, and it has not consented to the court’s jurisdiction. We have serious concerns about the ICC’s attempts to exercise its jurisdiction over Israeli personnel.”
He went on to say that the Palestinians do not qualify as a sovereign state, and therefore are not qualified to obtain membership at the ICC.
“The United States has always taken the position that the court’s jurisdiction should be reserved for countries that consent to it or that are referred by the UN Security Council,” Price added. “As we made clear when the Palestinians purported to join the Rome statute in 2015, we do not believe that Palestinians qualify as a sovereign state, and therefore are not qualified to obtain membership, as a state or to participate as a state in international organizations, and that includes, in the ICC.”
As reported by The Jerusalem Post