US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) over an Israeli investigation. The United States and Israel are not members of the courts and do not recognize their authority.
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on suspicion of war crimes related to Israeli military actions in Gaza following the Hamas attacks in October 2023. Many Palestinians, including children, were killed during Israeli responses.
The order states that the ICC is “initiating non-Gi and unfounded actions targeting Israeli in the United States and our relations L. Association,” and addressed Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Joab Gallant. It accused the court of misusing its power by issuing a “bassed warrant.”
“The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel,” the order states, adding that its actions set a “dangerous precedent.”
Trump signed the orders while Netanyahu was in Washington. The two met at the White House on Tuesday, and Netanyahu also met with lawmakers on Thursday.
The order further states that the United States will impose “specific and serious consequences” on those responsible for the actions of the ICC. Possible measures include banning assets blocks and ICC staff, employees and their families from entering the United States.
Human rights groups said these sanctions could discourage court work and contradict US efforts in other international cases.
“Victims of human rights abuses around the world rely on the International Criminal Court when they have no other place to go, and President Trump’s executive order makes it difficult for them to find justice,” says Charlie of the American Civil Liberties Union. Hogle said. “The order also puts American people in the United States, as the order is at risk of severe penalties to help courts identify and investigate atrocities committed everywhere, and therefore is a serious first amendment. I raise concerns.”
Hogle added that the order is “an attack on both accountability and freedom of speech.”
The United States has never participated in the ICC and has long opposed the unelected judges and global courts prosecuting American officials. The 2002 law allows the US military to release the US or allies detained by the ICC. In 2020, Trump imposed sanctions against Fatau Benseuda, a former ICC prosecutor, to launch an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan, including those committed by the US.
Former President Joe Biden later lifted these sanctions and, in particular, the US began limited cooperation with the ICC after indicting Russian Ukrainian presidents of war crimes in Ukraine.
Sanctions could make it difficult for ICC researchers to travel and use US technology to secure evidence. Last year, ICC experienced a cyberattack that over several weeks of interrupting access to files.
Some European countries are opposed to US sanctions. The Netherlands urged ICC members “to work together to mitigate the risk of these possible sanctions so that the courts can continue to carry out their work and fulfill their duties.”
