The speech, titled "Protecting American Constitutionalism and Sovereignty from International Threats", is Bolton's first formal address since joining the administration in April. It is sponsored by the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian policy group. The International Criminal Court building in the The Hague Bolton is expected to outline a new campaign to challenge the court's legitimacy as it considers cases that could put the United States and close allies in jeopardy for the first time, according to individuals familiar with the planned remarks who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to do so on the record. Bolton is likely to lay out American opposition to the court and propose measures including new agreements to shield US personnel from international prosecution and the threat of sanctions or travel restrictions for people involved in prosecuting Americans. One person said Bolton plans to use the speech to announce that the Trump administration will force the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's office in Washington in a dispute over a Palestinian effort to seek prosecution of Israel through the ICC.

Bolton's announcement is closely related to concern at the Pentagon and among intelligence agencies about potential US liability to prosecution at the court over actions in Afghanistan, said a senior administration official familiar with aspects of the forthcoming announcement. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The ICC investigation of US wartime actions represents exactly the kind of infringement on US sovereignty that Bolton and other opponents of the court have long warned about, that official and others said. "It's a much more real policy matter now because of the potential liability in Afghanistan," the official said, adding that other nations share US concerns. The Trump administration has questioned whether the ICC has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute US citizens for actions in Afghanistan, because Afghan, US and US military law all could apply in different situations, the official said.

The new broadside against the ICC follows steps by the administration challenging international cooperation in other areas. This year, the administration has withdrawn from the United Nations human rights body, halted financial support for a UN aid program for Palestinian refugees and threatened to pull out of the World Trade Organisation. US Marine prepares for a training session for Afghan army commandos in the Shorab military camp in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Bolton's speech comes two weeks before President Donald Trump will attend the United Nations General Assembly, where he will address other world leaders. US officials have said Trump will focus on US claims about the threat posed by Iran, and reiterate his opposition to the international nuclear deal with Iran. Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in May. Trump's opposition to the Iran deal is related to a wider suspicion of international agreements and organisations such as the ICC. Three successive US administrations of both political parties have rejected the full jurisdiction of the international court over American citizens, although U.S. cooperation with the court expanded significantly under the Obama administration.

The United States has never signed the 2002 international treaty, called the Rome Treaty, that established the court, which is based in The Hague. Stephen Pomper, who worked on issues related to the ICC in the Obama administration, said an attempt to weaken the court would exacerbate strains between the United States and allies in Europe and elsewhere who were supporters of the court. "It's going to create friction that's not necessary and it's going to create the impression the United States is a bully and a hegemon," said Pomper, who now is US program director at the International Crisis Group. Bolton was part of an effort during the George W Bush administration to formalise US resistance to the court, including through legislation prohibiting US support and efforts to pressure other countries into agreements not to surrender US citizens to the body.

Bolton's opposition has intensified as ICC judges evaluate a request from prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who last year asked for permission to formally investigate alleged crimes committed during the Afghan war. That could potentially include actions by US military or intelligence personnel in the detention of terrorism suspects. The United States has been embroiled in the Afghan war for 17 years. The court is also considering a request from Palestinian authorities to probe alleged crimes committed in Palestinian territories, a step that could result in attempts to prosecute Israeli officials. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in a speech at the United Nations a year ago, called on the ICC to investigate and prosecute Israeli citizens for alleged crimes against Palestinians. In response, the Trump administration had moved in November to close the Palestinian diplomatic office, but quickly back-tracked and allowed the office to remain open with temporary restrictions.</s>White House National Security Adviser John Bolton threatened to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the global tribunal announced an investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan -- in a harsh condemnation just before the world marked 17 years after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Speaking in Washington, D.C., at a Federalist Society luncheon on Monday, Bolton described the court, which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands, as "illegitimate," adding: "for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us."

He also slammed the organization's decision to formally investigate war crimes allegedly committed by Afghan national security forces, Taliban and Haqqani network militants, and U.S. forces and intelligence in Afghanistan dating back to May 2003. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks; the war is ongoing.

BOLTON SAYS NO TIMETABLE FOR TRUMP'S MIDEAST PEACE PLAN

"The International Criminal Court unacceptably threatens American sovereignty and U.S. national security interests," Bolton said, adding the U.S. "will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court."

Bolton vowed that the U.S. "will not cooperate with the ICC," would sanction the ICC's funds in the U.S. financial system and would prosecute ICC judges and lawyers in U.S. courts.

Bolton's remarks came after the Trump administration announced the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Washington.

The office was closed, the State Department said, because there were "no direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel."

"PLO leadership," according to State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, "has condemned a U.S. peace plan they have not yet seen and refused to engage with the U.S. government with respect to peace efforts and otherwise."

Bolton reiterated the statement, saying: "The United States supports a direct and robust peace process, and we will not allow the ICC, or any other organization, to constrain Israel's right to self-defense."

The PLO formally represents all Palestinians, and while the U.S. doesn't officially recognize Palestinian statehood, the organization has maintained a general delegation office in Washington that facilitates Palestinian officials' interactions with the U.S. government.

The office's closure came after the Trump administration cut nearly $300 million in planned funding for a United Nations agency that aids Palestinian refugees after finding the operation "irredeemably flawed."

PALESTINIANS DECRY US DECISION TO CUT AID TO UN AGENCY, CALL IT A 'BIG MISTAKE'

Since its creation in 2002 to prosecute war crimes in areas where perpetrators might not otherwise face justice, the ICC has filed charges against dozens of suspects including former Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, who was killed by rebels before he could be arrested, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has been charged with multiple crimes, including genocide in Darfur.

Al-Bashir remains at large, as does Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, who was among the first rebels charged by the court in 2005. The court has convicted just eight defendants.

The court has been hobbled by the refusal of the U.S., Russia, China and other major nations to join, while Burundi and the Philippines have quit. The latter's departure, announced earlier this year, takes effect next March.

Bolton on Monday called the court "an unprecedented effort to vest power in a supranational body without the consent of either nation-states or the individuals over which it purports to exercise jurisdiction."

"It certainly has no consent whatsoever from the United States," he added.

Fox News' Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>The US national security adviser, John Bolton, will adopt an aggressive posture against the international criminal court (ICC), threatening sanctions against its judges if they proceed with an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Americans in Afghanistan.

Bolton is to make the announcement to the Federalist Society, a conservative group, in Washington on Monday. It will be his first major address since joining Donald’s Trump White House.

“The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” Bolton will say, according to a draft of his speech.

He will also say that the state department will announce the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) office in Washington out of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel.

The PLO office in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel,” Bolton’s draft text states. It says the Trump administration “will fight back” if the international criminal court, which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands, formally proceeds with opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by US service members and intelligence professionals during the war in Afghanistan.

If such an inquiry proceeds, the Trump administration will consider banning judges and prosecutors from entering the US, put sanctions on any funds they have in the US financial system and prosecute them in the American court system.

“We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us,” Bolton’s draft text states.

In addition, the US may negotiate more binding, bilateral agreements to prohibit countries from surrendering Americans to the court, the text says.

The court’s aim is to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The US did not ratify the Rome treaty that established the court in 2002, with then-President George W Bush opposed to the court. Barack Obama took some steps to cooperate with the organisation.

“We will consider taking steps in the UN security council to constrain the court’s sweeping powers, including to ensure the ICC does not exercise jurisdiction over Americans and the nationals of our allies that have not ratified the Rome statute,” Bolton’s draft text says.</s>National Security Advisor John Bolton blasted the International Criminal Court in a blistering speech Monday, where he slammed 'unjustifiable' investigations of U.S. treatment of detainees after Sept. 11th.

'We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. And we certainly will not join the ICC,' Bolton said Friday in a speech to the conservative Federalist Society in Washington.

'We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us,' he inveighed.

He threatened the U.S. would 'take note' of any countries who cooperate with the ICC.

'We will remember that cooperation when setting U.S. foreign assistance, military assistance, and intelligence sharing levels,' he warned.

Bolton cast the international body, which he helped the U.S. pull away from as UN ambassador during the Bush administration, as a 'free-wheeling global organization claiming jurisdiction over individuals without their consent.'

He also announced the Trump Administration would be closing a Palestinian Liberation Organization office in Washington – saying it would not remain open while it would not start 'direct and meaningful' peace talks with Israel.

'Today, reflecting Congressional concerns with Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel, the State Department will announce the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization office here in Washington, D.C.,' Bolton said.

'As President Reagan recognized in this context, the Executive has "the right to decide the kind of foreign relations, if any, the United States will maintain," and the Trump Administration will not keep the office open when the Palestinians refuse to take steps to start direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel. The United States supports a direct and robust peace process, and we will not allow the ICC, or any other organization, to constrain Israel's right to self-defense,' Bolton said.

Bolton laid out an aggressive posture against the International Criminal Court, threatening sanctions against ICC judges if they proceed with an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Americans in Afghanistan.

Bolton was heckled during a protester he said was from the group Code Pink.

'I ask everyone in the room today: would you consign the fate of American citizens to a committee of other nations, including Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and entities that are not even states, like the Palestinian Authority?' Bolton asked the Federalist Society Members at the high-end Mayflower hotel during his luncheon address.

He called the ICC the 'Founders' worst nightmare come to life.'

He ripped it as 'an elegant office building in a faraway country that determines the guilt or innocence of American citizens.'

'Had the ICC existed during the Second World War, America's enemies would no doubt be eager to find the United States and its allies culpable for war crimes for the bombing campaigns over Germany and Japan,' Bolton said.

Bolton blasted an ICC prosecutor for sharing confidential documents with actress Angelina Jolie, who holds a UN human rights post.

'Recent allegations of mismanagement and corruption among ICC personnel make this perfectly clear. The first Prosecutor elected by the Assembly of States Parties attempted to protect a high-ranking government official from prosecution, assisted a businessman with links to violations in Libya, and shared confidential court documents with Angelina Jolie,' Bolton said.

He also came armed with a threat: 'If the Court comes after us, Israel or other U.S. allies, we will not sit quietly. We will take the following steps, among others, in accordance with the American Servicemembers' Protection Act and our other legal authorities,' Bolton said, before laying out several steps.

One threatened response: 'We will take note if any countries cooperate with ICC investigations of the United States and its allies, and we will remember that cooperation when setting U.S. foreign assistance, military assistance, and intelligence sharing levels,' he said.

'We will ban its judges and prosecutors from entering the United States. We will sanction their funds in the U.S. financial system, and, we will prosecute them in the U.S. criminal system. We will do the same for any company or state that assists an ICC investigation of Americans,' Bolton threatened.

'Well I hope that's clear to everybody,' he said when his blistering remarks were concluded.

Bolton's speech was his first major address since joining the Trump White House.

'The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,' Bolton said, according to a draft of his speech seen by Reuters.

Bolton said that the State Department will announce the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington out of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel.

'The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel,' says Bolton's draft text.

The Palestinians said they were undeterred from going to the ICC. They described the planned PLO mission closure as the latest pressure tactic by a Trump administration that has slashed funding to a U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and to hospitals in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as capital of a future state.

'We reiterate that the rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale, that we will not succumb to U.S. threats and bullying,' Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said in a statement.

'Accordingly, we continue to call upon the International Criminal Court to open its immediate investigation into Israeli crimes.'

There was no immediate response from Israel, where government offices were closed for the Jewish new year.

Bolton's draft speech says the Trump administration 'will fight back' if the ICC proceeds with opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. service members and intelligence professionals during the war in Afghanistan.

If such an inquiry goes ahead, the Trump administration will consider banning judges and prosecutors from entering the United States, put sanctions on any funds they have in the U.S. financial system and prosecute them in American courts.

'We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us,' says Bolton's draft text.

In addition, the United States may negotiate more binding, bilateral agreements to prohibit nations from surrendering Americans to The Hague-based court, says the text.

The court's aim is to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The United States did not ratify the Rome treaty that established the ICC in 2002, with then-President George W. Bush opposed to the court. Bush's successor, President Barack Obama, took some steps to cooperate with it.

'We will consider taking steps in the U.N. Security Council to constrain the court´s sweeping powers, including to ensure that the ICC does not exercise jurisdiction over Americans and the nationals of our allies that have not ratified the Rome Statute,' says Bolton's draft text.

Palestinians have reacted with dismay to the U.S. funding cuts, warning that they could lead to more poverty and anger - among factors stoking their decades of conflict with Israel.

Trump last week ordered that $25 million earmarked for the care of Palestinians in East Jerusalem be directed elsewhere.

'This decision will create serious cash-flow problems at the hospitals and will necessarily create delays in life-saving and other urgent treatments,' Walid Nammour, head of the network of six hospitals affected, told reporters on Monday. 'Overall, the decision puts the health of 5 million Palestinians at risk.'</s>In the first major policy speech since his appointment, National Security Adviser John R. Bolton put some meat on the bones of President Trump’s vaunted “America first” foreign policy, saying the U.S. was ready to sanction anyone cooperating with a global court’s investigation of the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan and announcing that the Palestine Liberation Organization diplomatic office in Washington was no longer welcome.

A favorite of Washington’s conservative establishment for his hawkish stance on thorny global issues, Mr. Bolton offered a robust and expansive defense of American sovereignty during an appearance at the Federalist Society, a conservative legal advocacy group.

His speech drew strong responses from supporters and critics.

He said the Hague-based International Criminal Court had no jurisdiction to investigate U.S. officials and soldiers for their actions in Afghanistan, including on charges of war crimes involving detainees that Mr. Bolton dismissed as baseless.

“We will not cooperate with the ICC,” Mr. Bolton said. “We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us.”

The State Department said the closure of the Palestinian office reflected in part the organization’s refusal to engage in the Trump administration’s effort for a comprehensive peace deal with Israel. Palestinian officials immediately denounced the move and said Washington had forfeited its role as an honest broker in any peace accord.

“If the choice is between our relationship with Trump administration and our legitimate rights, we choose the latter,” Ambassador Husam Zomlot, head of the PLO office, posted on Twitter. He accused the Trump administration of acting in part “based on fear of our effectiveness in shifting U.S. public opinion in our favor.”

The International Criminal Court was created in 2002 to prosecute perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. More than 120 countries are members, but major powers such as the U.S., Russia and China never signed onto the court. President George W. Bush rescinded the Clinton administration’s move to join the tribunal.

Mr. Bolton was a steadfast critic of the court while serving as a senior official in the Bush administration, first as undersecretary of state and later as ambassador to the United Nations.

The court received more cooperation from the U.S. during the Obama administration.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that the administration acted on information that the court could take imminent action against the U.S. government or its allies in Afghanistan.

Mr. Bolton left little doubt of U.S. determination to resist any such effort. He said the court is a “supernational independent institution” that functions with unchecked powers to “infringe on American sovereignty.” The court, he said, is “ineffective, unaccountable and, indeed, outright dangerous.”

He zeroed in on an effort late last year by prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to start investigating whether U.S. troops and intelligence officials, in addition to U.S. allies, had committed any war crimes, including torturing detainees, during the 17-year-old war in Afghanistan.

Mr. Bolton said the Trump administration would “use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” including banning its judges and prosecutors from entering the U.S., sanctioning their funds and prosecuting them in American courts.

Mr. Bolton’s comments drew swift criticism from Amnesty International, which tweeted: “John Bolton & the Trump Administration’s attack on the International Criminal Court (#ICC) is an attack on millions of victims and survivors who have experienced the most serious crimes under international law.”

Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s human rights program, said the prospect of Washington levying individual sanctions on the international court’s judges, is something “straight out of an authoritarian playbook.”

“The unprecedented threat comes as U.S. officials face, for the first time, the specter of full criminal investigation by the court for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, which is an ICC member,” Mr. Dakwar said in a statement.

Mr. Bolton said the closure of the PLO’s Washington office also arose in part from its efforts to persuade the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

His announcement, which the State Department echoed, is the latest attempt to pressure Palestinians to re-engage in peace talks with Israel.

Those tactics have moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to Palestinian organizations working with refugees and economic development in the West Bank and Gaza.

“This afternoon, we also make a new pledge to the American people,” Mr. Bolton said. “If the court comes after us, Israel or any of our other allies, we will not sit quietly.”

While condemned by the Palestinians, the move was greeted warmly by pro-Israeli groups in Washington.

“The PLO has outlived its usefulness since the creation of the Palestinian Authority,” said Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “It confuses negotiators as to who now makes decisions. Its leaders have been consistently against compromise.”

But PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi called the office closure a “form of crude and vicious blackmail,” according to a statement carried by the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency.

Senior Palestinian diplomat Saeb Erekat demanded that the international community intervene in what he argued were American “attacks against the international system as a whole.”

Palestinian officials said Mr. Bolton’s announcement would accelerate their campaign to get the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel.

PLO officials confirmed that they had received notice that the Washington office must close, but staffers reportedly were still working and unsure of when they might have to abandon their posts.

This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.

, out of based on ratings</s>The United States on Monday will adopt an aggressive posture against the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, threatening sanctions against its judges if they proceed with an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Americans in Afghanistan.

President Donald Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, is to make the announcement in a midday speech to the Federalist Society, a conservative group, in Washington. It will be his first major address since joining the Trump White House.

"The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court," Bolton will say, according to a draft of his speech seen by Reuters.

Bolton will also say that the State Department will announce the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington out of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel.

The PLO office in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</s>President Trump's National Security Advisor, John Bolton, will threaten to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) at a speech in Washington to the conservative Federalist Society, according to Reuters news.

Reuters, who claims to have obtained a draft of Mr Bolton's speech, report that he will make the threat due to an ICC investigation into possible US war crimes in Afghanistan, an inquiry that the Trump administration strongly opposes.

Employing surprisingly harsh rhetoric, Bolton will reportedly declare that, "the United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court."

Additionally, Bolton — who is notorious for his hawkish foreign policy views — will also announce the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's (PLO) offices in Washington due to the group's involvement with an ICC inquiry into alleged Israeli war crimes against civilians in Gaza. "The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel," Bolton will assert.

READ MORE: Bolton Claims US, Russia, Israel Want Iran Driven From Syria

The draft text also reportedly says that the US "will not cooperate with the ICC. We will not provide assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us."

For those who see the ICC as a bedrock of international justice, the news is likely to come as a shock, especially considering that Bolton is expected to propose that the Trump administration place a ban on ICC prosecutors from entering the US. 



READ MORE: Lawyer on Effectiveness of the ICC: 'In 14 Years, Court Made Only Four Rulings'

The purpose of the ICC, which has the backing of the UN, is to pursue cases against the perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The US did not sign the Rome Statute that established the ICC in 2002. At the time, President George W. Bush, for whom Bolton served as ambassador to the United Nations, was opposed to the court's mandate.

Bolton's comments will not mark the first time that he expressed open hostility to international institutions. Back when he was representing the Bush administration as its ambassador to the UN from 2005-06, Bolton once famously declared that, "if the UN secretary building in New York lost 10 storeys, it wouldn't make a bit of difference."



READ MORE: Duterte Spokesman: Philippines' Withdrawal From ICC 'Beginning of End' for Court</s>The United States will retaliate against the International Criminal Court if it attempts to prosecute any Americans over actions taken in Afghanistan, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton said Monday.

Bolton threatened sanctions against its judges if they proceed with a probe into alleged war crimes by Americans.

Bolton made the announcement in a speech to the Federalist Society, in Washington, DC, on Monday.

"Today, on the eve of September 11th, I want to deliver a clear and unambiguous message on behalf of the president. The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court," Bolton said.

"We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC... We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us," Bolton added.

Bolton said the court is a threat to American sovereignty and national security, arguing that that the court has very little accountability and that it's definitions of crimes are "vague and subject to wide-ranging interpretation."

He said the U.S. would take action against any countries or companies that cooperated with the ICC during the Afghanistan investigation.

The court was founded in 2002. At that time, at the direction of then-President George W. Bush, the U.S. unsigned the statute that created the court.

Bolton, who worked in the Bush administration, helped to lead the U.S. diplomatic opposition to the court.

Bolton also announced the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, DC, because of the Palestinian attempt to get the ICC to investigate Israel for crimes committed during its decades-old occupation of Palestine.

The national security adviser's announcement drew applause from the crowd.

Bolton said the US would "not sit quietly" if the ICC came after it, Israel, or other US allies.

The court in the Netherlands "has been ineffective, unaccountable, and indeed outright dangerous", Bolton said.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Monday threatened tough action against the International Criminal Court should it try to prosecute Americans for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and said the PLO’s office in Washington would be closed for seeking to punish Israel through the court.

“The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” national security adviser John Bolton told the Federalist Society, a conservative group, in his first major address since joining President Donald Trump’s White House in April.

The U.S. response could include sanctions against ICC judges should such prosecutions proceed, Bolton warned.

He added that the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office in Washington was being ordered closed out of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel.

Bolton said he did not believe the closure of the PLO office in Washington would shut the door on a long-delayed Arab-Israeli peace plan that Trump senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has been developing for months.

He said the plan continued to be refined with an eye toward eventually proposing it.

The Palestinians said they were undeterred from going to the ICC. They deemed the planned PLO mission closure a new pressure tactic by a Trump administration that has slashed funding to a U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and to hospitals in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as capital of a future state.

“We reiterate that the rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale, that we will not succumb to U.S. threats and bullying,” Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said in a statement.

“Accordingly, we continue to call upon the International Criminal Court to open its immediate investigation into Israeli crimes.”

Israel welcomed the Trump administration’s move and accused the Palestinians of seeing the court as a way of sidestepping U.S.-sponsored bilateral talks. Those contacts stalled in 2014.

“The Palestinians’ resort to the ICC and refusal to negotiate with Israel and the United States is not the way to advance peace, and it is good that the United States is taking a clear stand on this matter,” said an Israeli official who requested anonymity.

‘WILL NOT COOPERATE WITH ICC’

Bolton said the Trump administration “will fight back” if the ICC proceeds with opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. service members and intelligence professionals during the war in Afghanistan.

“The ICC prosecutor has requested to investigate these Americans for alleged detainee abuse, and perhaps more - an utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation,” he said.

If such an inquiry goes ahead, the Trump administration will consider banning judges and prosecutors from entering the United States, put sanctions on any funds they have in the U.S. financial system and prosecute them in American courts, Bolton said.

“We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us,” he said.

In addition, the United States may negotiate more binding, bilateral agreements to prohibit nations from surrendering Americans to The Hague-based court, Bolton said.

The court’s aim is to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The United States did not ratify the Rome treaty that established the ICC in 2002, with Republican President George W. Bush opposed to the court. Bush’s Democratic successor, Barack Obama, took some steps to cooperate with it.

FILE PHOTO: The entrance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, March 3, 2011. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen/File Photo

Palestinians have reacted with dismay to the U.S. funding cuts, warning that they could lead to more poverty and anger - among factors stoking their decades of conflict with Israel.

Trump ordered last week that $25 million earmarked for the care of Palestinians in East Jerusalem be directed elsewhere.

“This decision will create serious cash-flow problems at the hospitals and will necessarily create delays in life-saving and other urgent treatments,” Walid Nammour, head of the network of six hospitals affected, told reporters on Monday. “Overall, the decision puts the health of 5 million Palestinians at risk.”</s>In his first major speech since joining the White House, National Security Advisor John Bolton on Monday threatened sanctions against judges in the International Criminal Court if they continue attempting to probe alleged American war crimes in Afghanistan.

Over the past decade, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has conducted a preliminary examination of allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan. But in November 2017, the the prosecutor moved a step further and requested authorization to investigate the alleged crimes carried out not only by members of the Taliban, but also by U.S. intelligence and service members during the war.

In a speech from the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., Bolton, on the eve of Sept. 11, denounced the court and said the U.S. would not cooperate with its inquiries.

“The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” Bolton said. “We will let the ICC die on its own. For all its intents and purposes, [it] is already dead to us.”

During a press conference, Bolton said the ICC’s investigations threatened the sovereignty of the U.S. After a question from the audience, Bolton pushed back on the assertion that the U.S. had in fact threatened the autonomy of others. “I don’t think we're threatening anyone else's sovereignty,” he said.

“The Trump administration has a very different view of the ICC than the Obama administration,” Bolton said. “So we wanted to be out there on the record about that.”

Human rights advocates told The Daily Beast that they viewed Bolton’s remarks as an attempt by the U.S. to intimidate the court into dropping its inquiries into the crimes allegedly carried out by American servicemen.

James Goldston, the executive director of Open Society Justice Initiative, which advances the rule of law and rights protection worldwide, said the U.S. has at times engaged in conversations and meetings about the court’s activities. It also supports the court’s investigations into various war criminals such as Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda.

But, he said, the U.S. has also demanded that activities carried out by American individuals should not fall under the court’s purview. The U.S. is a signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, but did it did not ratify the statute, which means it is not a member of the court.

“The relationship between the U.S. and the ICC has been fraught but variable since the late 1990s,” Goldston said. “But this is a forceful response and represents an unfortunate … turn of events. The response is premature given the reality of what the court is likely to focus on in Afghanistan.”

Goldston said that the ICC, while it notes its interest into alleged crimes committed by U.S. servicemen, is likely to first target the most widespread and egregious crimes carried out during the war—those committed by the Taliban and members of the Afghan Security Forces.

“Even once an investigation is launched it has historically taken years to carry out,” Goldston said.

If the ICC probe into American activities in Afghanistan proceeds, the Trump administration will look at banning judges from entering the U.S. and put sanctions on any funds they hold in the country.

Bolton also called out the court for its preliminary examination into alleged crimes carried out by Israel in Palestinian territories. His remarks followed an announcement by the State Department and the White House that the administration would close the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s diplomatic offices in Washington, D.C. after its call for an ICC inquiry into Israel.

“The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel,” Bolton said. “The Trump administration will not keep the office open when the Palestinians refuse to take steps to start direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.”

On Monday morning, low level staffers working in the consulate section of the PLO office sat inside, unsure if they, too would need to leave their posts. Staffers said they did not find out about the office’s closing until late Sunday night after the Wall Street Journal broke the story.

The announcement about the closure of the PLO office comes after months of the Trump administration.

In May, Trump opened a U.S. embassy in Israel in Jerusalem, causing uproar by Palestinians who claim its the eastern parts of the city as their own. Following the opening of the embassy, Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, recalled his envoy to the U.S.

Days later, the Palestinian foreign minister asked the ICC prosecutor to open an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is also not a member of the ICC and has also said the court lacks jurisdiction over its citizens.

“This afternoon, we also make a new pledge to the American people,” Bolton said. “If the court comes after us, Israel or other U.s. allies, we will not sit quietly.”

“John Bolton’s threats show callous disregard for victims of atrocity crimes. The Trump administration claims to support accountability for grave abuses, but undermining the ICC would only squander opportunities for justice,” said Liz Evenson, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch.
National Security Advisor John R. Bolton threatens the International Criminal Court with sanctions should the organisation try to prosecute Americans for war crimes committed in Afganistan.