ICC campaign aimed at defending Netanyahu: Trump

CAMP DAVID, Aug 1: US President Donald Trump said on Friday that a US campaign to dismantle the International Criminal Court was intended to defend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others from prosecution, not himself.
Trump made the comment after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a cabinet meeting at Camp David that five countries had announced plans to quit the court since the United States launched a campaign earlier this month against what it says is a threat to US sovereignty.
"There's no information that they're after me," Trump said.
"It could happen, but just so you know ... he (Rubio) is not trying to defend me. He's trying to defend Bibi and various other people," Trump said, using Netanyahu's nickname. "But there are many people that shouldn't be looked at that way. But there is no indication that I'm one of them at this moment."
The ICC was established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
It asserts jurisdiction only if a member state is unable or unwilling to prosecute atrocities itself.
The United States has never been a member of the court.
However, the ICC statute also gives the court the power to prosecute atrocity crimes committed on the territory of member states by nationals of non-member states.
Trump's opposition toward the court goes back to his first term. It surfaced again with a plan to penalize ICC officials, an idea developed in November 2024 when Trump was reelected and the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.�" REUTERS