US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday for what the White House called “illegitimate and baseless” investigations targeting America and its ally Israel.
Trump signed an executive order stating that the court in The Hague had “abused its power” by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with the US president on Tuesday.
He ordered asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees, their family members, and anyone deemed to have assisted the court’s investigations.
The individuals targeted were not immediately named, but Trump had previously imposed sanctions on the court’s prosecutor.
Trump’s order stated that the tribunal had engaged in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel,” referring to ICC probes into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza.
Neither the United States nor Israel are ICC members.
There was no immediate response from the ICC. However, the Netherlands, the court’s host country, expressed regret over Trump’s decision.
“The court’s work is essential in the fight against impunity,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp on X.
The sanctions follow Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, during which Trump unveiled a controversial plan for the United States to “take over” Gaza and relocate Palestinians to other Middle Eastern nations.
The UN and legal experts have stated that such a plan would violate international law. Forcible displacement is also a crime under the ICC’s Rome Statute.
‘Criminal Responsibility’
Following a request by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, judges issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif—whom Israel claims is dead.
The court determined there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare in Gaza, along with crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution.
Netanyahu has accused the court of anti-Semitism.
During his first term, Trump imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban on ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and other senior officials in 2020 after she launched an investigation into alleged war crimes by US soldiers in Afghanistan.
While his order did not specifically name Israel, Trump administration officials were also angered by Bensouda’s 2019 probe into alleged war crimes in Palestinian territories.
President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions after taking office in 2021.
Prosecutor Khan later shifted the focus of the Afghan investigation away from the US and onto the Taliban instead.
Biden strongly condemned the “outrageous” warrant against Netanyahu in November.
Last month, the US House passed a bill to sanction the ICC, but Senate Democrats blocked it, arguing it could have unintended consequences for US allies and businesses.
However, Democrats have also voiced their frustration over the ICC’s action against Netanyahu.
