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Donald Trump has sanctioned ICC officials, who have investigated the United States and its allies, such as Israel, to re-examine a policy from his first term.
In an executive order signed on Thursday, the U.S. president imposed financial sanctions on ICC employees and their families and blocked visas, in line with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington. The order also applies to officials who investigate U.S. citizens.
The White House did not immediately name the approved officials.
The order said the court’s “sovereignty” threat to allies such as the United States and Israel that “destroy important national security and foreign policy efforts.”
ICC staff responsible for “illegal violations” of the court may freeze their assets, and they and their families may be blocked from entering the United States.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, “violating human and war crimes.”
The move marks a sharp escalation of legal proceedings in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which has killed about 47,000 people, the first time the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Western-backed leaders, according to Palestinian officials.
The court also issued an arrest warrant against then-dangerous leader Mohammed Deif, involving the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel on the group, which triggered the Gaza conflict.
“By issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials and Hamas officials, the International Criminal Court has created shameful moral equivalence,” the White House said.
Trump’s executive order says the ICC “sets dangerous precedents for the latest actions of Israel and the United States” and Washington “clearly objections and expects our allies to oppose any ICC action against the United States or Israel.”
Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the courts and do not recognize their powers.
The International Criminal Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israeli officials’ warrant obligations Member States of the ICC (including most European and Latin American countries, as well as some in Asia and Africa) arrest Netanyahu and Garant if the court does not have a law enforcement mechanism.
Joe Biden’s White House issued an arrest warrant. France, members of the International Criminal Court and U.S. allies said in November that Netanyahu could be exempted from arrest because Israel is not a signatory to the Roman statute that established the court.
The Independent Court is located in the Netherlands and was established in 2002 to prosecute perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Trump also took measures against ICC officials in 2020, authorizing assets to freeze and blocked his family from entering the United States after the court began an investigation into the alleged U.S. action in Afghanistan.
