In an astonishing and troubling move, the Trump administration shut-down the office of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Washington D.C. apparently to protect Israel from war crimes charges brought against it by the PLO with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking on behalf of president Donald Trump, National Security Adviser John Bolton also viciously attacked the ICC as ineffective and unaccountable, "outright dangerous" and contrary to American principles. Bolton then threatened the U.S. "would respond against the ICC and its personnel to the extent permitted by U.S. law."
He also said the U.S. will ban the ICC's financial system and will prosecute this court in the U.S. criminal system. Bolton also threatened to prosecute any company or state that assists an ICC investigation of Americans.
Bolton said America will "take note" of countries that cooperate with the ICC. He said the U.S. will remember that cooperation when settling U.S. foreign assistance, military assistance, and other forms of aid.
All of Bolton's arguments are nothing new and have been belabored over the past decade by Bolton and the Republican Party, the chief opponent of the ICC. What is startling and menacing this time is Bolton admitting Trump is shutting down the PLO and maligning the ICC because the United States will not allow the ICC, or any other international organization for that matter, to restrict Israel's right to self-defense.
The PLO slammed the closure of its U.S. office and criticized Trump for being an Israeli stooge. PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said this dangerous escalation shows Trump is willing to disband the international system to protect Israeli crimes while condoning attacks against the land and people of Palestine.
Husam Zomlot, head of the PLO delegation to the U.S. condemned the closure of its mission in the strongest terms. It said Trump is blindly executing Israel's wish list that starts with shutting down Palestinian diplomatic representation in America.
Zomlot also said Trump seeks to protect Israel from unlawful acts, and provide it with full immunity to kill the two-state-solution.
Trump's puzzling move against the PLO was apparently triggered by the latter's plea in May for the ICC to open a war crimes investigation against Israel for settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Also in that month, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Malki handed ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda a new file against Israel as a follow-up to previous submissions to the court supporting the Palestinian Authority's allegation of Israeli war crimes. The Palestinian Authority also urged the ICC to accelerate the opening of a criminal investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel.
It's time to hold the Israeli war criminals accountable and to bring justice to the Palestinians, said the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian Authority has urged the ICC to open such a case since it submitted its first files against Israel in June 2015, shortly after it signed the Rome Statute (which created the ICC) in December 2014.
In a report on its activities for 2017, the ICC said it had progressed in its work to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation of Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people.
The United States has signed (in 2000) but never ratified the Rome Statute that created the ICC in order to protect U.S. military and diplomatic members from crimes they commit overseas. Bolton's hatred of the ICC is nothing new.
In 2002 as Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security under former president George Bush, Bolton stated the United States does not intend to become a party to the Rome Treaty despite the treaty having been signed by former president Bill Clinton. Bolton claimed the United States has no legal obligations arising from its signature of the treaty on Dec. 31, 2000.
