00:02EU leaders have expressed their support to the International Criminal Court after the
00:07United States announced it would sanction top officials investigating Israel's actions
00:12in Gaza.
00:13In a statement, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Council
00:18Chief Antonio Costa said that the ICC helps deliver justice to the victims of some of
00:24the world's most horrific crimes.
00:25They added that in order to carry out this essential work, its judges and officials
00:31must be able to act independently and without external pressure.
00:35The statement came after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. would
00:40sanction the ICC's President Japan's Tomoko Akane and senior lawyer Abdul Issei of Senegal.
00:47The top officials have been tasked with probing war crimes allegedly committed by Israel in
00:52its war in Gaza.
00:53The ICC has described these sanctions as a flagrant attack on its independence.
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