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Donald Trump imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court over ‘illegitimate’ Israel probe
Donald Trump had accused the International Criminal Court of engaging in ‘illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel’
US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court over ‘illegitimate and baseless’ investigations of its close ally, Israel.
Neither the US nor Israel is a member of or recognises the International Criminal Court.
Trump’s action came as Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington. He and Trump held talks Tuesday at the White House, and Netanyahu spent some of Thursday meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Why did Donald Trump order actions against the ICC?
Last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes over his military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack against Israel in October 2023.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians, including children, have been killed during the Israeli military's response.
What does the order of sanctions on ICC say?
In the order Donald Trump signed on Thursday, the US President accused the International Criminal Court of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”.
It also accused the court of abusing its power by issuing “baseless arrest warrants” against Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
“The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel,” the order states, adding that the court had set a “dangerous precedent” with its actions against both countries.
What does it mean for ICC?
The order said the US would impose “tangible and significant consequences” on those responsible for the ICC's “transgressions.”
Actions may include blocking property and assets and preventing the entry of ICC officials, employees, and relatives into the United States.
Any sanctions could cripple the court by making it harder for its investigators to travel and by compromising US-developed technology to safeguard evidence.
Last year, the court suffered a major cyberattack that left employees unable to access files for weeks.
Also Read | Italy says International Criminal Court made an ’immense mess’ out of Libyan warlord arrest warrant
US-ICC relationship
The US relationship with the ICC is a complicated one.
The United States participated in negotiations that led to the adoption of the Rome Statute that established the court as a tribunal of last resort to prosecute the world’s worst atrocities — war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide — if individual governments did not take action.
The US voted against the Rome Statute in 1998. The then US President Bill Clinton signed the statute in 2000 but did not send the treaty to the US Senate to be ratified.
When George W Bush became president in 2001, he effectively cancelled the US signature. He led a campaign to pressure countries to enter bilateral agreements not to hand over Americans to the ICC.
A 2002 law authorizes the Pentagon to liberate any American or US ally held by the court.
In 2020, Trump sanctioned chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, over her decision to open an inquiry into war crimes committed by all sides, including the US, in Afghanistan.
However, those sanctions were lifted under President Joe Biden, and the US began to tepidly cooperate with the tribunal — especially after Khan, in 2023, charged Russian President Vladimir Putin with war crimes in Ukraine.
(With AP inputs)
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Business NewsNewsUs NewsDonald Trump imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court over ‘illegitimate’ Israel probe
First Published:7 Feb 2025, 06:15 AM IST
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