Trump signs executive order imposing sanctions on ICC over Israel arrest warrants

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), citing the court's targeting of the United States and Israel. This order marks a further escalation of tensions between the U.S. and the ICC and has sparked widespread concern in the international community.

The executive order imposes financial and visa sanctions on unnamed individuals and their family members who assist the ICC in investigating U.S. citizens or U.S. allies. Specifically, these sanctions are intended to deter the ICC from investigating relevant cases and to exert pressure on those involved.

Adam Keith, Accountability Counsel Director at Human Rights First, stated, "This is a shocking abuse of sanctions and an insult to survivors of war crimes around the world." He added, "No ICC official or witness cooperating with the institution should face sanctions for investigating war crimes, nor should U.S. citizens, companies, and close allies risk fines or criminal charges for supporting the Court’s vital work."

The order was issued following a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. Netanyahu is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza since October 2023. "I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that the International Criminal Court (ICC), as established by the Rome Statute, has engaged in illegitimate and unfounded actions against the United States and our close ally, Israel," the executive order reads.

The executive order also states, "The ICC has, without legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over personnel of the United States and certain of our allies, including Israel, and has commenced preliminary examinations and investigations with respect thereto, and further abused its power by issuing unwarranted arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant." It also emphasizes, "The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is a party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC."

The Trump administration had previously imposed sanctions on ICC officials in 2020 when the court investigated alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan. President Joe Biden revoked Trump's 2020 sanctions upon taking office and conditionally supported the ICC's investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Trump overturned Biden's decision to terminate the 2020 sanctions on his first day back in the Oval Office last month. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute (the treaty that established the ICC), and relations between the U.S. and the court have been unstable since the ICC's establishment in 2002.

The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, is the world's first permanent international criminal court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. Netanyahu is the first leader of a Western-backed nation to be subject to an arrest warrant from the court. Keith stated, "In Ukraine, Sudan, and around the world, the ICC advances U.S. interests in ensuring some measure of accountability for those who commit war crimes. Rather than attacking the Court, the U.S. government should urge Israeli officials to credibly investigate the allegations before them."

ICC President Tomoko Akane warned in December that possible sanctions posed an existential threat to the world's permanent criminal justice institution: "The court is being threatened with severe economic sanctions,… as if it were a terrorist organization," she said. "These measures would rapidly undermine the court’s operations in all situations and cases, and jeopardize its very existence." In January, Senate Democrats blocked a House bill that could have led to legislative sanctions against the ICC. But Trump has the power to issue executive orders without legislation.

Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Todd Buchwald told Middle East Eye (MEE) in January, "Without some kind of robust plan, sanctions could seriously disrupt the work of the court."