Trump sanctions ICC for 'illegitimate' Israel, US probes

Trump’s order said the court in The Hague had “abused its power” by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held talks with the US president on Tuesday.

The order also said the tribunal had engaged in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel,” referring to ICC probes into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza.

The US president ordered asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court’s investigations.

The sanctions are a show of support after Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, during which Trump unveiled a plan for the US to “take over” Gaza and move Palestinians to other Middle Eastern countries.

Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the court.

There was no immediate reaction from the ICC.

The ICC issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif — whom Israel says is dead.

The warrants, approved after an application by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in May, are for “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.”

During his first term, Trump imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban on the ICC’s then-prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and other senior officials and staff in 2020.

Describing it as a “kangaroo court,” his then-administration made the move after Gambian-born Bensouda launched an investigation into allegations of war crimes against US soldiers in Afghanistan.

While his order at the time did not name Israel, Trump administration officials said they were also angered by Bensouda’s opening of a probe into the situation in the Palestinian territories in 2019.

President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions soon after taking office in 2021.

Prosecutor Khan later effectively dropped the United States from the Afghan investigation and focused on the Taliban instead.

Biden strongly condemned the “outrageous” warrant against Netanyahu in November.

The US House passed a bill last month to sanction the ICC, but Senate Democrats blocked it last week, saying the bill could backfire on US allies and firms.

But Democrats have also expressed anger at the sanctions on Netanyahu.