Afrasianet - Washington- Unlike the  United States,  which has refused to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) system, European countries are an integral part of that system, putting their relations withWashington to a major test even before President-elect Donald Trump comes  to the White House on Jan. 20.

Israel and the United States do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, which has no police to execute its arrest warrants, but it puts Israeli officials at risk of arrest in other countries, including most of the continent.

At a news conference on Thursday, EU top diplomat  Josep Borrell said  the arrest warrant "is not a political decision, it is a tight decision and must be respected and implemented." Accordingly, many European countries, including NATO members  such as France , Belgium, the Netherlands andTurkey, have pledged to uphold the ICC ruling and defended its independence.

On Thursday, the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant. While Israel is not a member of the court, 125 member states are legally required to arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot on their territory, making him a pariah in most parts of the world.

Netanyahu became the first head of state to face such a warrant after Russian President Vladimir Putin , who was accused of kidnapping Ukrainian children last year, and has since been forced to reduce his foreign travel after some countries warned Moscow that they would be obliged to detain him.

A U.S. official told Politico that the ICC warrant means "countries have to think twice before interacting with someone." The court's decision has led to the risk of a split between Israel's European allies and the United States.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said  Washington could consider imposing consequences on countries that cooperate with the government. In a statement on Thursday, he said: "If we do not act forcefully against the ICC after its outrageous decision, we are making a grave mistake."

Warning message

Graham is a letter warning European leaders not to follow EU directives to enforce ICC orders to arrest Netanyahu and Galant. He said he would send a letter to the EU saying: "We believe this is outside their jurisdiction, it's rogue and reckless. Anyone who aids and incites this reckless effort will be on the wrong side of the United States."

He also added that he has the votes to pass legislation to punish the court next year, when Republicans control  the U.S. House of Representatives andSenate and the White House. "I'm confident I have the votes to make that happen in  the next  Congress."

Graham expressed confidence in President Joe Biden's position, adding: "I am confident that President Donald Trump understands the court's proceedings against Israel. We must respond forcefully to them for our own good. Any country or organization that aids or incites this anger should expect to face resolute resistance from the United States, and I look forward to working with Trump, his team, and my colleagues in Congress to come up with a strong response."

David May, director of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank close to Israel, wrote that the decision would have enormous implications for Netanyahu in particular and Israel in general. The EU's pledge to implement the arrest warrant will make travel abroad very difficult for him.

"If Netanyahu's plane encounters technical difficulties on its way to the United States, where can he land? Will a European country arrest him? His arrest would be highly provocative not only against Israel, but also against Washington. Domestically, this may encourage his supporters to argue that the international community is irreparably hostile to Israel and actively interferes in Israeli affairs."

Penalties

Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington, called on the US government to punish the court's members and impose sanctions on any country that agrees to what it has done to Israel's leaders.

In a tweet on the X platform, Oren said, "In 2002, Congress passed the U.S. Military Personnel Protection Act to punish any country or entity that cooperates with an ICC ruling against U.S. forces or their allies. Israel is Washington's ally. Therefore, the United States must, by law, punish the court and any country that cooperates with its anti-Semitic ruling."

Trump previously imposed sanctions on some ICC officials in 2020 for opening an investigation into wrongdoing by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and the court backed down. Biden also lifted sanctions in 2021.

The Wall Street Journal believes that "isolating the ICC and its 100 senior officials from the US banking system through sanctions will affect its European bank accounts, which could cripple them."