US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to what the White House described as “baseless” investigations into the United States and its ally, Israel.
According to the order, the ICC had “abused its power” by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had met with Trump earlier in the week.
The directive accused the tribunal of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions” against the US and Israel, referring to its investigations into alleged war crimes committed by US troops in Afghanistan and Israeli forces in Gaza.
The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans on ICC officials, employees, their families, and anyone found assisting the court’s investigations.
This move follows Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, during which Trump revealed a controversial plan for the US to “take over” Gaza and relocate Palestinians to other Middle Eastern nations.
Neither the US nor Israel are members of the ICC. The court has yet to respond to the sanctions.
On 21 November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif, whom Israel claims is deceased.
The warrants, approved after ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s request in May, cite “crimes against humanity and war crimes” committed between 8 October 2023 and 20 May 2024.
During his first term, Trump had already taken action against the ICC, imposing financial sanctions and visa restrictions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and other senior officials in 2020.
His administration condemned the ICC as a “kangaroo court” after Bensouda launched an investigation into alleged war crimes by US soldiers in Afghanistan.
Although that order did not specifically mention Israel, US officials at the time expressed frustration over a separate ICC probe into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories in 2019.
Trump’s successor, President Joe Biden, lifted those sanctions shortly after taking office in 2021. Subsequently, prosecutor Khan redirected the Afghanistan investigation to focus on the Taliban rather than US forces.
Biden also strongly criticised the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November. While the US House of Representatives recently passed a bill to sanction the ICC, Senate Democrats blocked it last week, arguing that such measures could have unintended consequences for US allies and businesses.
Nonetheless, some Democrats have also voiced frustration over the sanctions against Netanyahu.
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