AP: Washington urges Netherlands to quit ICC as US sanctions loom

The Netherlands is bracing for the United States to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), in what would mark another escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign against the Hague-based tribunal.

Dutch officials were informed by US counterparts that potentially crippling measures against the court are imminent, according to diplomatic and government officials familiar with the briefings who spoke to The Associated Press (AP).

Such sanctions, which are more commonly imposed on autocrats, terrorist groups and criminal cartels, could severely disrupt the ICC’s operations. The measures could cut the court off from financial and information technology services and potentially complicate payments to its US-based employees.

Two people familiar with the matter said US officials had warned their Dutch counterparts that the sanctions could be introduced as early as September 21. They also reportedly urged the Netherlands, which hosts the court, to withdraw from the ICC.

The expected measures are linked to the court’s investigations into officials from the United States and Israel, neither of which is among the ICC’s 125 member states. The tribunal has issued arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with the war in Gaza. Netanyahu and the Israeli government have strongly rejected the allegations.

By Jeyhun Aghazada