US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing it of unfairly targeting the United States and Israel.
The order places financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or U.S. allies.
Trump signed the order while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington. The move follows the ICC’s decision last November to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza. The ICC also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.
The sanctions are seen as a response to the ICC’s actions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Défense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The ICC accused them of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s military actions in Gaza following Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023. The court also issued arrest warrants for top Hamas leaders.
The US, which is not a member of the ICC, argues that the court is unfairly targeting Israel and making an unjust comparison between Israel’s leadership and Hamas, which it considers a terrorist group.
Earlier, former U.S President Joe Biden condemned the ICC’s decision, and both Democrats and Republicans in Congress opposed it. Last month, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to sanction the ICC, but it was blocked in the Senate.
This is not the first time the US has acted against the ICC. In 2020, President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on ICC officials when the court investigated alleged war crimes by US forces in Afghanistan. Those sanctions were later lifted by Biden.