US Rights Lawyers Press ICC to Probe Trump, Rubio Over Gaza
(MENAFN) A grassroots group and international human rights lawyers filed a formal request Wednesday urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior US officials, accusing them of “aiding and abetting genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel in Gaza.”
The Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG) said it delivered a dossier to the court’s Office of the Prosecutor in The Hague. The package includes “sworn affidavits” from doctors who worked in Gaza, along with eyewitness accounts, whistleblower testimony, video evidence and records detailing American military, financial, diplomatic and political backing for Israel.
Speaking at a press conference in The Hague after the filing, UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese said: “International law remains the last peaceful instrument we possess to confront injustice and pave the way forward,”
“The legal tools are there,” she said. “What is missing is the political courage to use them.”
The group said the filing also contains testimony from Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a US trauma surgeon who has twice worked in Gaza, and David McIntosh, a former manager at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
In a statement, the delegation declared: “No more impunity for those who finance, arm, aid and abet genocide. No government official is above international law,”
The ICC has issued no ruling on the claims. Handing material to the prosecutor does not oblige the court to launch an investigation or request arrest warrants.
Washington is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, and disputes the tribunal’s authority over American and Israeli citizens. Israel denies accusations of genocide in Gaza.
The filing follows a landmark step by the court in November 2024, when it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over their conduct in Gaza, including the use of starvation as a method of warfare.
The Trump administration has escalated its opposition to the court. In July, Rubio said the US would “dismantle” the court, “brick by brick, if necessary.” Washington has imposed sanctions on ICC judges and prosecutors, as well as on Albanese, over what it described as “illegitimate and baseless” actions aimed at the United States and Israel.
Since October 2023, the war in Gaza has killed more than 74,600 Palestinians and wounded nearly 176,000, most of them women and children, while destroying 90% of the territory’s infrastructure.
The Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG) said it delivered a dossier to the court’s Office of the Prosecutor in The Hague. The package includes “sworn affidavits” from doctors who worked in Gaza, along with eyewitness accounts, whistleblower testimony, video evidence and records detailing American military, financial, diplomatic and political backing for Israel.
Speaking at a press conference in The Hague after the filing, UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese said: “International law remains the last peaceful instrument we possess to confront injustice and pave the way forward,”
“The legal tools are there,” she said. “What is missing is the political courage to use them.”
The group said the filing also contains testimony from Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a US trauma surgeon who has twice worked in Gaza, and David McIntosh, a former manager at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
In a statement, the delegation declared: “No more impunity for those who finance, arm, aid and abet genocide. No government official is above international law,”
The ICC has issued no ruling on the claims. Handing material to the prosecutor does not oblige the court to launch an investigation or request arrest warrants.
Washington is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, and disputes the tribunal’s authority over American and Israeli citizens. Israel denies accusations of genocide in Gaza.
The filing follows a landmark step by the court in November 2024, when it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over their conduct in Gaza, including the use of starvation as a method of warfare.
The Trump administration has escalated its opposition to the court. In July, Rubio said the US would “dismantle” the court, “brick by brick, if necessary.” Washington has imposed sanctions on ICC judges and prosecutors, as well as on Albanese, over what it described as “illegitimate and baseless” actions aimed at the United States and Israel.
Since October 2023, the war in Gaza has killed more than 74,600 Palestinians and wounded nearly 176,000, most of them women and children, while destroying 90% of the territory’s infrastructure.
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