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09-02-2025
WASHINGTON/ THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has vowed to continue its judicial work after US President Donald Trump signed an order to impose sanctions on its staff.
The ICC said it “stands firmly” by its personnel and would continue to provide “justice and hope”, adding the order seeks to harm its “independent and impartial” work.
Trump’s order accuses it of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”.
Last November, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.
“The ICC condemns the issuance by the US of an executive order seeking to impose sanctions on its officials and harm its independent and impartial judicial work.
“The Court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world, in all situations before it.”
Trump signed the measure as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington.
The sanctions place financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.
Judges at the court said there were “reasonable grounds” that Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Mohammed Deif of Hamas bore “criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Deif’s death in an Israeli airstrike last year has since been confirmed by Hamas.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a global court with the power to bring prosecutions for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
In recent years, it has also issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, Taliban leaders for “persecuting Afghan girls and women” and Myanmar’s military leader for crimes against the Rohingya Muslims.
The US and Israel are not members of the court but more than 120 countries are, including the UK and many European nations.
The Netherlands, which hosts the court, said it “regrets” Trump’s order.
“The court’s work is essential in the fight against impunity,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on X.
A White House memo circulated on Thursday accused the Hague-based ICC of creating a “shameful moral equivalency” between Hamas and Israel by issuing the warrants at the same time.
Trump’s executive order said the ICC’s recent actions “set a dangerous precedent” that endangered Americans by exposing them to “harassment, abuse and possible arrest”.
“This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States government and our allies, including Israel,” the order said.
In a post on X on Friday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he “strongly” commended Trump’s executive order.
He claimed the ICC’s actions were “immoral and have no legal basis”, accusing the court of not operating “in accordance with international law”.
Earlier US President Donald Trump has restated a vision in which the US would take over Gaza, after officials in his administration appeared to contradict his earlier comments. (Int’l News Desk)
