ICC Probe Prompts Israel to Seek Biden's Support

An Israeli flag and an American flag (File photo: Reuters)
An Israeli flag and an American flag (File photo: Reuters)
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ICC Probe Prompts Israel to Seek Biden's Support

An Israeli flag and an American flag (File photo: Reuters)
An Israeli flag and an American flag (File photo: Reuters)

Israel is seeking the political support of the new US administration after the International Criminal Court (ICC) declared it had jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Israel believes the decision will lead to an investigation into settlements and war crimes.

A report by the Israeli Walla website said that senior Israeli officials and their counterparts in the US administration discussed The Hague’s decision last week.

US Chargé d'Affairs to Israel discussed with Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi the decision of the ICC at the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Ashkenazi also discussed the matter over the phone with his US counterpart, Anthony Blinken, prompting the US State Department to issue a statement expressing its opposition to the court’s decision.

“The United States has always taken the position that the court’s jurisdiction should be reserved for countries that consent to it, or that are referred by the UN Security Council,” read the statement.

Tel Aviv’s early request for support forced the US administration to engage in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which raises concerns in Israel.

US President Joe Biden has not prioritized the conflict and, unlike his predecessors, has not appointed a special envoy.

Israeli officials believe that launching the ICC investigation would lead to a severe crisis with the Palestinians, given that they submitted a request for a formal probe, according to Walla.

Consequently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in dire need of political support from Biden in terms of pressuring the court’s member states and prosecutor Fatou Bensouda against launching the inquiry.

The site explained that by resorting to Biden's administration early on, the US will exploit Israel's need for its help.

Washington will use this leverage to deter Israel from implementing unilateral steps, such as building settlements.

The Biden administration wants a two-state solution and believes that any unilateral step will hinder the peace process, according to previous statements made by Blinken.

“The hard truth is we are a long way I think from seeing peace break out and seeing a final resolution of the problems between Israel and the Palestinians and the creation of a Palestinian state. In the first instance now it’s: do no harm,” Blinken told CNN.

The top official asserted that the administration wants to be sure that neither side takes unilateral actions that make the prospects for moving toward peace and a resolution even more challenging than they already are.

The United States also wants to prevent the investigation as it would complicate the administration's efforts to resume relations with the Palestinian Authority.

According to US law, the Biden administration must obtain congressional approval to resume the relationship with the Authority and reopen the PLO office in Washington.



UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli forces raided four of its schools in east Jerusalem, ordering their closure.

Israel has severed all ties with the agency, known as UNRWA, and bars it from operating in its territory. It says the agency allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, allegations denied by UN officials.

UNRWA said police entered a training center by force on Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades and ordering its evacuation. It said 350 students and 30 staff were present during the raid on the Qalandiya Training Center.

It said police and city officials ordered the closure of three other schools in east Jerusalem, two of which proceeded with the school day.

Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said police did not enter the UN buildings and that Jerusalem municipal authorities carried out the closures. He said police were deployed to protect the city workers, using “riot dispersal” means in one case where a crowd threw stones at them outside a UN facility.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, said the raids were an “unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities,” and a “denial of the right to education for children and trainees.”