Trump sanctions ICC over investigations into US, Israeli citizens

On February 6, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing it of unfairly targeting the United States and Israel.

The order includes both financial penalties and visa restrictions against unspecified ICC officials and their family members involved in investigations concerning U.S. citizens or allies, Caliber.Az reports per US media.

The sanctions follow a contentious ICC decision last November to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and several Hamas leaders. This move drew sharp bipartisan criticism in Washington, with the Trump administration claiming it created a “shameful moral equivalency” by treating Israel and Hamas similarly.

The ICC’s investigation suggested that Netanyahu and Gallant may have used “starvation as a method of warfare” by blocking humanitarian aid and deliberately targeting civilians during Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Israeli officials have dismissed the allegations as false and antisemitic.

The executive order, signed on February 6, seems timed to coincide with Netanyahu's visit to Washington, which included a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on February 4.

“The ICC’s recent actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces, by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest,” the text of the executive order states.

In his first term, Trump strongly criticized the ICC, asserting that the court has “no jurisdiction, no legitimacy and no authority” within the U.S. He emphasized that neither the United States nor Israel are parties to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court.

“The ICC was designed to be a court of last resort,” the fact sheet accompanying the executive order reads. “Both the United States and Israel maintain robust judiciary systems and should never be subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC.”

Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to sanction the ICC, though it was blocked by Senate Democrats.

Neither Israel nor the United States recognizes the jurisdiction of the ICC, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands. The court lacks its own police force to enforce arrest warrants, and under the Rome Statute, signatories are required to carry out such warrants.

However, most governments adhere to the principle that heads of state enjoy legal immunity from other courts.

By Aghakazim Guliyev