Trump Hits Back: Sanctions Imposed on International Criminal Court
The order accused the ICC of unlawfully asserting its jurisdiction and abusing its authority.
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court, claiming it has “engaged in unlawful and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”
The resolution accused the ICC of unlawfully imposing its jurisdiction on “employees, the United States and some of its allies, and opening preliminary investigations into them.” It also accused the ICC of abusing its authority by issuing arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli defense minister who oversaw much of the war in Gaza.
The International Criminal Court is the only permanent international court with the authority to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.
The court issued arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials last year, finding “reasonable grounds” to believe they were responsible for crimes such as using starvation as a weapon of war and “murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.”
“Neither country has ever recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC, and both are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly abide by the laws of war,” Trump’s executive order said. “The ICC’s recent actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former U.S. personnel, including active duty members of the armed forces, by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest.”
The sanctions could include a ban on entry into the United States for ICC officials, agents, employees, and their immediate family members, as well as blocking property and assets. The order targets individuals who have directly participated in or materially supported the ICC’s efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute” people the United States considers to be “protected persons” — including U.S. citizens, current and former U.S. military officials, current and former U.S. government officials, and foreign nationals from allied countries, such as Israel, that do not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction.
Arrest warrants can tarnish the reputation of a country’s top leaders. Once warrants are issued, officials risk arrest in signatory states. However, there have been instances where member states have ignored the warrants, and Trump’s order states that he expects “U.S. allies to oppose any ICC action against the United States, Israel, or any other U.S. ally that has not consented to the ICC’s jurisdiction.”
The ICC’s accusations against Israel have also angered lawmakers and the Biden administration, who have accused the court of acting outside its jurisdiction. Neither Israel nor the United States are signatories to the court’s statute.
Israel has faced international condemnation over its handling of the war in Gaza, which it launched in response to a devastating Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023 that killed 1,200 people.
Over the 15 months since then, Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed more than 47,300 Palestinians, including thousands of children, according to Palestinian health authorities. The bombing has also led to mass starvation and malnutrition among the population, and left much of the once densely populated territory uninhabitable.
Last week, efforts led by Republicans in the Senate to impose sanctions on the court over arrest warrants it issued against Israeli officials failed.
The bill described the ICC’s actions against Israel as “illegitimate and baseless,” and said the charges would set a “harmful precedent” that threatens the United States, Israel, and “other partners that have not been subject to the ICC’s jurisdiction.”
The list of 125 countries that recognize the court includes Canada, Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea and other major US allies. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea have not signed the treaty and oppose the court’s work.
News of the sanctions came amid Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, which included meetings and a news conference with Trump at the White House on Tuesday. During the news conference, Trump suggested that the United States “take over” Gaza, displace all Palestinians living there to other countries, and rebuild it. The United Nations and other experts have said his proposal would violate international law.
