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Donald Trump has placed sanctions on International Criminal Court officials who investigate the US and its allies such as Israel, reintroducing a policy from his first term.
In an executive order signed on Thursday, the US president placed financial sanctions and blocked visas for the ICC employees and their families, in a move that coincided with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington. The order also applies to officials who investigate US citizens.
The White House did not immediately name the officials who have been sanctioned.
The order says the court is a threat to the “sovereignty” of the US that “undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work” of the country and allies such as Israel.
ICC staff that are “responsible” for the court’s “transgressions”, could have their assets frozen and they and their families could be blocked from entering the US.
In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his then-defence minister Yoav Gallant “for crimes against humanity and war crimes”.
The move marked a dramatic escalation of legal proceedings over Israel’s offensive in Gaza — which has killed about 47,000 people, according to Palestinian officials — and marked the first time the ICC issued a warrant for a western-backed leader.
The court also issued a warrant for then-Hamas leader Mohammed Deif for crimes against humanity and war crimes over the group’s October 7 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the conflict in Gaza.
The White House said that “by issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials and Hamas officials at the same time, the ICC created a shameful moral equivalency”.
Trump’s executive order said the ICC’s “recent actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent”, and that Washington “unequivocally opposes and expects our allies to oppose any ICC actions” against the US or Israel.
Neither the US nor Israel are members of the court, or recognise its authority.
The ICC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The warrants for Israeli officials obliged the ICC’s member states — which include most European and Latin American countries, as well as some in Asia and Africa — to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they crossed their borders, although the court has no enforcement mechanism.
Joe Biden’s White House condemned the warrants when they were issued. France, an ICC member and US ally, in November said Netanyahu may have immunity from arrest because Israel was not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court.
The independent court is based in the Netherlands and was established in 2002 to prosecute the perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Trump also took measures against ICC officials in 2020, authorising an asset freeze and blocking their family members from coming into the US after the court began investigating alleged US actions in Afghanistan.
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