Harris Signed a Letter Against the ICC in 2020

Dina Faisal

Politics

11th February 2021

Harris Signed a Letter Against the ICC in 2020

The letter was signed when Kamala Harris was a Senator (Getty).

The Claim

Kamala Harris signed a letter against the ICC's decision to probe Israel for war crimes.

News posted on

Emerging story

Following the International Criminal Court's decision to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity in Palestine, a claim began circulating on news websites and social media platforms that Vice President Kamala Harris signed a letter against the ICC.

Quds News Network reported that Harris signed a letter against The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to probe Israel for war crimes.

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar’s investigation found the news circulating to be true, yet excludes some elements of the story.

Last May, then US Senator Kamala Harris signed a bipartisan letter calling the ICC’s intentions “dangerous” and saying that the US should “stand in full force against them.”

The circulating news is also neither reflective of nor related to the latest decision by the ICC to recognize Palestine as a member state, and thereby giving the court jurisdiction to investigate war crimes.

Following the announcement, the US Department of State said that the US objects to the determination by a pretrial chamber of the International Criminal Court that The Hague has jurisdiction to open a criminal investigation into Israel for war crimes.

“The United States objects to today’s International Criminal Court decision regarding the Palestinian situation. Israel is not a State Party to the Rome Statute,” tweeted State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

We will continue to uphold President Biden’s strong commitment to Israel and its security, including opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly. https://t.co/WVOk96ZI4H
— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) February 6, 2021

Price added, “We will continue to uphold President Biden’s strong commitment to Israel and its security, including opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly.”