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ICC Prosecutor Says Israel Hasn't Tried to Probe Gaza War Crime Allegations
Prosecutor Karim Khan also said the threat of sanctions against the ICC "is a matter that should make all people of conscience be concerned."
Jan 17, 2025
After International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan brought allegations of war crimes against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel could have probed the accusations itself, Khan told Reuters in a Thursday interview—but it has made "no real effort" to do so.
The conversation took place a day after Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire and hostage deal that is expected to go into effect on Sunday, though Israeli airstrikes in the besieged Gaza strip have continued since the deal was announced.
Khan sought arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, including starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the directing of attacks against civilians. The warrants were granted by ICC judges in November. Israel rejects the charges.
Khan also successfully sought an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, who he accused of crimes against humanity including murder, extermination, torture, and rape.
Khan told Reuters that "we're here as a court of last resort and... as we speak right now, we haven't seen any real effort by the State of Israel to take action that would meet the established jurisprudence, which is investigations regarding the same suspects for the same conduct."
Khan added that an Israeli investigation could have led to the case being send to Israeli courts under what are called complementary principles. It's possible for Israel to demonstrate its willingness to investigate, even after warrants were issued, Khan told Reuters.
However, "the question is have those judges, have those prosecutors, have those legal instruments been used to properly scrutinize the allegations that we've seen in the occupied Palestinian territories, in the State of Palestine? And I think the answer to that was 'no'," he said.
Khan said he still felt firm in his decision regarding the arrest warrants despite the fact the U.S. House of Representatives last week voted to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) to protest the warrants.
The ICC is an international body with 125 member countries—a list that does not include the United States or Israel—that seeks to investigate and prosecute grave offenses such as war crimes and genocide.
The Republican-controlled House passed the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act," with the help of 45 Democrats, which would "impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court (ICC) engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies," including Israel.
Passage in the House sets the bill up for likely enactment, given Republican support for the measure and GOP control of both the Senate and the White House.
Khan told Reuters that the threat of sanctions against the ICC “is a matter that should make all people of conscience be concerned.”
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Top Senate Dem Says 'We're Not Going to Let Elon Musk Run the Government'
After once again moving the nation toward a government shutdown, the House GOP on Friday was pushing a Plan C: separate votes on short-term funding, disaster relief, and farming.
Dec 20, 2024
Congressional Democrats on Friday continued to target billionaire Elon Musk and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for forcing a last-minute scramble to prevent a government shutdown shortly before the winter holidays.
"I'm ready to stay here through Christmas because we're not going to let Elon Musk run the government," Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a Friday statement. "Put simply, we should not let an unelected billionaire rip away research for pediatric cancer so he can get a tax cut or tear down policies that help America outcompete China because it could hurt his bottom line."
"We had a bipartisan deal—we should stick to it. The deal that was already agreed to would responsibly fund the government, offer badly needed disaster relief to communities across America, and deliver some good bipartisan policy reforms," she added. "The American people do not want chaos or a costly government shutdown all because an unelected billionaire wants to call the shots—I am ready to work with Republicans and Democrats to pass the bipartisan deal both sides negotiated as soon as possible."
If Congress doesn't act before midnight, a government shutdown could begin overnight—a possibility the White House Office of Management and Budget is warning federal agencies to prepare for,
according toWashington Post reporter Jeff Stein.
After Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy—the two billionaires Trump has tapped to co-lead his forthcoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—came out against the initial bipartisan deal on Wednesday, the president-elect swiftly followed suit, leading progressive critics to dub Musk, the world's richest person, a "shadow president" a month before the inauguration.
Faced with that opposition and Trump's sudden call for the continuing resolution to also raise the country's debt ceiling, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday evening held a vote on a bill that would address that demand and fund the government for three months—but it was rejected by 38 Republicans and all but two Democrats.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, on Thursday night called out Musk on his own social media platform, X, and argued that "Congress must not yield to out-of-touch billionaires."
After
voting against the so-called American Relief Act (H.R. 10515) on Thursday, Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) said in a statement that "we had an agreement. A bipartisan negotiated continuing resolution. But then the Republicans' billionaire bosses—Trump and Musk—got involved, and Republicans showed us *exactly* who they work for."
"In the last 48 hours, the Republicans have shown, AGAIN, that their agenda is the corporate billionaire, big money in politics agenda," she continued. "In order to meet their bosses' expectations, they offer up vulnerable Americans as an offering, sacrificing working people's healthcare, children's research, elderly people's affordable prescription drugs, and much, much more."
"And they are laying the groundwork to make the rich richer through tax cuts for the ultrawealthy in the 119th Congress," Ramirez warned. "If the Republicans want to make the rich richer, the poor poorer, and the sick sicker, they will have to pass this continuing resolution without me. I work for everyday Americans. I am not beholden to billionaires. I voted NO."
With less than 12 hours until a shutdown, Senate Democrats are putting the blame on Johnson, who is shifting to Plan C: three separate votes on "a short-term funding bill, money for recent natural disasters, and a one-year farm bill extension with aid for farmers," Politicoreported Friday.
According to the outlet:
The new plan will test his ability to wrangle his conference. Members believe Johnson is taking the proposal through the Rules Committee, trying to pass it through regular order so it only requires a simple majority on the House floor. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who is on the panel, said that he will back the plan, meaning it should have enough support to get out of the committee.
But then things get trickier. Johnson would need near unity from his conference to bring it up for debate on the floor, known as voting for the rule. Democrats typically don't vote for rules and are loath to help bail out Republicans after they backed away from a bipartisan funding agreement earlier this week.
"Republicans have the House majority—they should be able to pass whatever they want. If they need our votes, they have to come to the table and negotiate," outgoing Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Friday. "That's what happened, and we struck a bipartisan deal. But then they blew it up because of a tweet from a billionaire. Insane."
The shutdown threat comes as Republicans prepare to control not only the White House but also both chambers of Congress next year.
Reporting on the GOP's Friday leadership meeting, Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman said that a slide was displayed for a debt ceiling agreement that would "raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion in the 'first reconciliation package' alongside a promise to CUT $2.5 trillion in 'net mandatory spending in the reconciliation process.'"
Though federal law prohibits using the reconciliation process to alter Social Security, the advocacy group Social Security Works noted in response to Sherman that "the ONLY WAY to cut $2.5 trillion in spending is by slashing Social Security, Medicare, and/or Medicaid. Republicans want to steal our benefits to pay for their billionaire tax cuts."
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Despite 100% Pentagon Audit Failure Rate, House Passes $883.7 Billion NDAA
"Instead of fighting the rising cost of healthcare, gas, or groceries, this Congress prioritized rewarding the wealthy and well-connected military-industrial complex," said Defense Spending Reduction Caucus co-chairs.
Dec 11, 2024
Despite the Pentagon's repeated failures to pass audits and various alarming policies, 81 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted with 200 Republicans on Wednesday to advance a $883.7 billion annual defense package.
The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, unveiled by congressional negotiators this past Saturday, still needs approval from the Senate, which is expected to vote next week. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday that he plans to vote no and spoke out against the military-industrial complex.
The push to pass the NDAA comes as this congressional session winds down and after the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced last month that it had failed yet another audit—which several lawmakers highlighted after the Wednesday vote.
Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), co-chairs and co-founders of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus, said in a joint statement, "Time and time again, Congress seems to be able to find the funds necessary to line the pockets of defense contractors while neglecting the problems everyday Americans face here at home."
"Instead of fighting the rising cost of healthcare, gas, or groceries, this Congress prioritized rewarding the wealthy and well-connected military-industrial complex with even more unaccountable funds," they continued. "After a seventh failed audit in a row, it's disappointing that our amendment to hold the Pentagon accountable by penalizing the DOD's budget by 0.5% for each failed audit was stripped out of the final bill. It's time Congress demanded accountability from the Pentagon."
"While we're glad many of the poison pill riders that were included in the House-passed version were ultimately removed from the final bill, the bill does include a ban on access to medically necessary healthcare for transgender children of service members, which will force service members to choose between serving their country and getting their children the care they need," the pair noted. "The final bill also failed to expand coverage for fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), for service members regardless of whether their infertility is service-connected."
Several of the 124 House Democrats who voted against the NDAA cited those "culture war" policies, in addition to concerns about how the Pentagon spends massive amounts of money that could go toward improving lives across the country.
"Once again, Congress has passed a massive military authorization bill that prioritizes endless military spending over the critical needs of American families. This year's NDAA designates $900 billion for military spending," said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), noting the audit failures. "While I recognize the long-overdue 14.5% raise for our lowest-ranking enlisted personnel is important, this bill remains flawed. The bloated military budget continues to take away crucial funding from programs that could help millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet."
Taking aim at the GOP's push to deny gender-affirming care through TRICARE, the congresswoman said that "I cannot support a bill that continues unnecessary military spending while also attacking the rights and healthcare of transgender youth, and for that reason, I voted NO."
As Omar, a leading critic of the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, also pointed out: "The NDAA includes a provision that blocks the Pentagon from using data on casualties and deaths from the Gaza Ministry of Health or any sources relying on those statistics. This is an alarming erasure of the suffering of the Palestinian people, ignoring the human toll of ongoing violence."
Israel—which receives billions of dollars in annual armed aid from the United States—faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court last month issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The NDAA includes over $627 million in provisions for Israel.
Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who voted against the NDAA, directed attention to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed Department of Government Efficiency( DOGE), set to be run by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
"How do we know that DOGE is not a good-faith effort to address wasted funding and unaccountable government? The NDAA passed today," Ramirez said. "Republicans overwhelmingly supported the $883.7 billion authorization bill even though the Pentagon just failed its seventh audit in a row."
"Billions of dollars go to make defense corporations and their investors, including Members of Congress, rich while Americans go hungry, families are crushed by debt, and bombs we fund kill children in Gaza," she added. "No one who voted for this bill can credibly suggest that they care about government waste."
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who also opposed the NDAA, wrote in a Tuesday opinion piece for MSNBC that he looks forward to working with DOGE "to reduce waste and fraud at the Pentagon, while strongly opposing any cuts to programs likeSocial Security, Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau."
"We should make defense contracting more competitive, helping small and medium-sized businesses to compete for Defense Department projects," Khanna argued. "The Defense Department also needs better acquisition oversight. Defense contractors have gotten away with overcharging the Pentagon and ripping off taxpayers for too long."
"Another area where we can work with DOGE is reducing the billions being spent to maintain excess military property and facilities domestically and abroad," he suggested. "Finally, DOGE can also cut the Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile program."
The congressman, who is expected to run for president in 2028, concluded that "American taxpayers want and deserve the best return on their investment. Let's put politics aside and work with DOGE to reduce wasteful defense spending. And let's invest instead in domestic manufacturing, good-paying jobs, and a modern national security strategy."
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