U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday sanctioning the International Criminal Court for targeting the United States and its allies, including Israel, according to a White House official.
The Trump order will place financial and visa sanctions on individuals and their family members who assist in International Criminal Court investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies, said the official.
Arrest Warrant Against Netanyahu
The move by Trump comes after U.S. Senate Democrats last week blocked a Republican-led effort to sanction the ICC in protest at its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister over Israel’s campaign in Gaza. Netanyahu is currently visiting Washington.
The ICC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The court has taken measures to shield staff from possible U.S. sanctions, paying salaries three months in advance, as it braced for financial restrictions that could cripple the war crimes tribunal, sources told Reuters last month.
In December, the court’s president, judge Tomoko Akane, warned that sanctions would “rapidly undermine the Court’s operations in all situations and cases, and jeopardise its very existence.”
US House Votes
Earlier in January, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impose sanctions on the ICC, condemning its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former Defence Minister for actions during Israel’s Gaza campaign.
The vote was 243 to 140 in favour of the “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,” which would sanction any foreigner who investigates, arrests, detains or prosecutes U.S. citizens or those of an allied country, including Israel, who are not members of the court.
Forty-five Democrats joined 198 Republicans in backing the bill. No Republican voted against it.
US Escalates ICC Retaliation
This is the second time the court has faced U.S. retaliation as a result of its work. During the first Trump administration in 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes by American troops in Afghanistan.
The 125-member ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crime of aggression against the territory of member states or by their nationals. The United States, China, Russia and Israel are not members.
(With inputs from Reuters)
