The US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing it of "inappropriate actions" against the United States, Israel and other American allies.
This was reported by the US White House.
The decree imposes financial sanctions and visa restrictions on ICC officials, as well as their family members, who have assisted in investigations against Americans and Israelis.
“The ICC’s recent actions against Israel and the United States have set a dangerous precedent, putting current and former United States personnel, including active-duty military personnel, at risk of harassment, ill-treatment, and possible arrest,” Trump’s executive order states.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and several Hamas leaders at the same time. The court said Netanyahu and Gallant used “starvation as a method of warfare”, restricting Palestinians’ access to humanitarian aid, and deliberately targeting civilians. Israel has rejected the charges as false and anti-Semitic.
During his first presidential term, Trump claimed that ICC "has no jurisdiction, legitimacy, or authority" in the United States, and neither the United States nor Israel are parties to the Rome Statute
The United States and Israel do not recognize the jurisdiction of ICC and are therefore not obligated to execute its arrest warrants. Under the Rome Statute, signatories are required to execute arrest warrants regardless of the rank of the accused. However, many signatory governments continue to adhere to the international legal principle that heads of state are immune from other courts.
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