President Donald Trump has slapped stiff sanctions against the International Criminal Court, saying “baseless” arrest warrants for its allies — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant — exposed the U.S. to risk of prosecution and threatened Israel’s sovereignty.
Mr Trump, in an executive order on Thursday, said the ICC lacked jurisdiction over the U.S. and Israel given that both countries were not parties to the Rome Statute or members of the court and, therefore, could not be subject to its rules.
“The ICC’s recent actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the armed forces, by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest,” Mr Trump wrote in the executive order on Thursday.
Last November, ICC issued arrest warrants against Messrs Netanyahu and Gallant, accusing them of war crimes for blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza in the middle of a war. The ICC claimed the duo deprived the people of Gaza access to basic survival needs, including food and water.
However, Mr Trump clipped the court’s wings, noting that his executive order cut across, blocking the properties and assets of ICC officials and banning their family members from setting foot on American soil.
“The United States will impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions,” Mr Trump vowed.
Although the U.S. and Israel are not ICC members, Palestine became a member of the international court in 2015, thereby entitling Gaza to the ICC’s protection and jurisdiction.
