US President Donald Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio is working to bring the International Criminal Court to heel, describing the effort as a defense of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders targeted by the Hague-based tribunal.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting held at the Camp David presidential retreat on Friday, Rubio touted the administration’s campaign against the ICC, which he said had made itself illegitimate by claiming jurisdiction over countries that are not members of the court.
“The International Criminal Court has made themselves illegitimate because they claim that even if you’re not a member of that court, we can come after you,” Rubio said. “We tried to get them to reform and listen to us, they wouldn’t do it. They’re very arrogant. So we’ve now begun an effort to really try to bring them to heel.”
Trump interjected to clarify that the initiative was not aimed at protecting him, since the ICC is not currently seeking to prosecute the US president. “He’s trying to defend Bibi and various other people,” Trump said, using Netanyahu’s nickname.
The remarks came several weeks after Rubio unveiled the administration’s effort to dismantle the ICC, which Trump and other senior US officials have long argued should not investigate Americans. The court issued warrants in November 2024 for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Israel has dismissed the warrants as biased and antisemitic, rejecting the court’s jurisdiction on the grounds that neither Israel nor the United States ever joined the Rome Statute that created the ICC in 2002. The court relies on member states to enforce its warrants and has no police powers of its own.
The ICC probe stems from the Gaza war that began with the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, and Israel’s subsequent military campaign that Palestinian authorities say has killed tens of thousands. The court has also issued warrants linked to other conflicts, drawing criticism from Washington over its reach.
Rubio also used the cabinet meeting to celebrate the administration’s brokering of agreements between Israel and Lebanon and the disarmament deal between the Board of Peace and Hamas, calling them achievements a lot of people thought would never happen.
Sources: The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post
Author: Middle East Desk
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