Trump signs executive order imposing US sanctions on international criminal court
Donald Trump has signed an executive order sanctioning the international criminal court (ICC), the White House has confirmed.
The order accuses the ICC of having “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting the US and its “close ally” Israel, and said the court has “abused its power” by issuing “baseless” arrest warrants targeting Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its former defense minister, Yoav Gallant. The order states:
The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC.
Key events
Back on Trump’s shocking vision for a “Riviera of the Middle East”, Egypt has been quietly lobbying against the plan, according to the Associated Press.
Egyptian president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, has not publicly responded to Trump’s stunning proposal that most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians be relocated and the United States take charge of rebuilding the territory.
But in a statement on Thursday, the Egyptian government rejected efforts to move Palestinians from Gaza as a “blatant violation” of international law that could undercut ceasefire talks and threaten Middle East relations.
“This behavior provokes the return of hostilities and poses risks on the entire region and the foundations of peace,” the statement said.
Egyptian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door talks, said Cairo has made clear to the Trump administration and Israel that it will resist any such proposal, and that the peace deal with Israel — which has stood for nearly half a century — is at risk.
According to the Associated Press, one official said the message has been delivered to the Pentagon, the state department and members of the US Congress. A second official said it has also been conveyed to Israel and its Western European allies, including Britain, France and Germany.
A Western diplomat in Cairo, also speaking anonymously because the discussions have not been made public, confirmed receiving Egypt’s message of its strong opposition through multiple channels. The diplomat said Egypt was very serious and viewed the plan as a threat to its national security.
The ICC has, in recent weeks, been bracing for possible sanctions from the US, the Guardian previously reported.
This January, ICC officials were preparing for Trump’s new US administration to act quickly once in office to impose draconian financial and travel restrictions against the court and senior staff, including its chief prosecutor and judges.
The threat of US sanctions has loomed over the ICC since it issued arrest warrants in November against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
In a report by Harry Davies, based on interviews with officials and diplomats familiar with the ICC’s preparations, this January the court was planning for a “worst case scenario” in which the US imposes sanctions against the institution in addition to measures targeting individuals.
Read the full story below:
‘Reckless, vindictive and aggressive’: Amnesty International reacts to Trump’s ICC sanctions
In response to the executive order announced today by President Trump imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, said:
“This reckless action sends the message that Israel is above the law and the universal principles of international justice. It suggests that President Trump endorses the Israeli government’s crimes and is embracing impunity.
“Today’s executive order is vindictive. It is aggressive. It is a brutal step that seeks to undermine and destroy what the international community has painstakingly constructed over decades, if not centuries: global rules that are applicable to everyone and aim to deliver justice for all. The sanctions constitute another betrayal of our common humanity.”
The possible impacts of the sanctions
Any sanctions could “cripple” the court by making it harder for its investigators to travel and by compromising US-developed technology to safeguard evidence, according to the Associated Press.
The court last year suffered a major cyberattack that left employees unable to access files for weeks.
Some European countries are pushing back. The Netherlands, in a statement late last year, called on other ICC members “to cooperate to mitigate risks of these possible sanctions, so that the court can continue to carry out its work and fulfil its mandate.”
A rocky relationship with the ICC?
Like Israel, the US is not among the 124 members of the International Criminal Court and as the Associated Press writes, has long harboured suspicions that a “Global Court” of unelected judges could arbitrarily prosecute US officials.
A 2002 law authorises the Pentagon to liberate any American or US ally held by the court. In 2020, Trump sanctioned chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, over her decision to open an inquiry into war crimes committed by all sides, including the US, in Afghanistan.
However, those sanctions were lifted under former President Joe Biden, and the US began to tepidly cooperate with the tribunal — especially after Khan in 2023 charged Russian president, Vladimir Putin, with war crimes in Ukraine.
Rights activists says ICC sanctions will have a ‘chilling’ effect
Human rights activists have said that sanctioning court officials would have a chilling effect and run counter to US interests in other conflict zones where the court is investigating, writes the Associated Press.
“Victims of human rights abuses around the world turn to the International Criminal Court when they have nowhere else to go, and President Trump’s executive order will make it harder for them to find justice,” said Charlie Hogle, staff attorney with American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project.
“The order also raises serious First Amendment concerns because it puts people in the United States at risk of harsh penalties for helping the court identify and investigate atrocities committed anywhere, by anyone.”
Hogle said the order “is an attack on both accountability and free speech.”
“You can disagree with the court and the way it operates, but this is beyond the pale,” Sarah Yager, Washington director of Human Rights Watch, said in an interview prior to the announcement.
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Thursday that while an Israeli ban has not yet forced the agency to cease operations, it faces an “existential threat” in the long run.
“I have been very clear that despite all the obstacles and the pressure the agency is under, our objective is to stay and deliver until we are prevented to do so,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency, also known as UNRWA, said in an interview with The Associated Press during a visit to Beirut.
Israel last week formally banned UNRWA from operating on its territory. As a result, Lazzarini said, international staff have had to leave East Jerusalem because their visas expired, but in Gaza and the West Bank there has been no immediate impact on operations.
Even in East Jerusalem, he said, health care and other services provided by UNRWA “are continuing, though not necessarily at the same scope it used to be.”
UNRWA is also likely to face increased pressure from the United States under the new Trump administration, with the US leader this week proposing to “take ownership” of Gaza.
Israel says it struck two Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite ceasefire
Israel said late on Thursday it had struck two sites in Lebanon that allegedly contained weapons of the Hezbollah group, in violation of a ceasefire deal, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.
Israeli forces “conducted a precise strike in Lebanese territory on two military sites that contained Hezbollah weapons, which were in violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the army said in a post on X.
Marina Dunbar
Donald Trump has signed an executive order authorizing sanctions against individuals and their families who assist the international criminal court (ICC), accusing the body of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”.
It was unclear how quickly the Trump administration would announce names of people sanctioned.
The signing of the order coincides with Netanyahu’s visit to the US Capitol, which included an Oval Office meeting earlier this week.
Trump has been a vocal critic of the ICC since it issued arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, along with several Hamas leaders simultaneously.
Trump has previously argued that the ICC had “no jurisdiction, no legitimacy and no authority” in the US during his first term as president.
Summary of the day so far
It’s 1am in Gaza and Tel Aviv, and 6pm in Washington. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
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Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC). The order accuses the ICC of having “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting the US and its “close ally” Israel, and said the court “abused its power” by issuing “baseless” arrest warrants targeting Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
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Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, ordered the military to prepare plans to allow Palestinians “who wish to leave” Gaza to exit. Asked who should take the residents of Gaza, Katz said it should be countries who have opposed Israel’s military operations since the 7 October attacks. He also claimed that Spain, Ireland, and Norway, who all last year recognised a Palestinian state, are “legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories”.
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Trump doubled down on its Gaza proposal amid widespread opposition. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the Palestinian territory would be “turned over” to the US by Israel after it concludes its military offensive against Hamas. Netanyahu, who is in Washington, said it is “worth listening carefully” to Trump’s proposal.
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The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said Palestinians in Gaza are “going to have to live somewhere else in the interim”. Rubio described Gaza as “not habitable”, in comments that appeared to walk back on Trump’s proposal about transferring Palestinians permanently to neighbouring countries. Rubio is reportedly planning to visit the Middle East later this month.
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The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) warned that the agency faces an “existential threat” after Israel formally banned it from operating on its territory. Philippe Lazzarini also described Trump’s Gaza proposal as “totally unrealistic”, adding: “We are talking about forced displacement. Forced displacement is a crime, an international crime. It’s ethnic cleansing.”
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Countries around the world continued to come out in opposition to Trump’s plan to turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East” after the 2.3 million Palestinians living there were transferred to other countries. Trump’s proposal would “squash” the ceasefire and “incite a return of fighting”, Egypt’s foreign ministry said. Russia called Trump’s proposal “counterproductive” and accused him of fuelling “tension in the region”. China’s foreign ministry said Beijing opposed the forced transfer of people in Gaza. Pakistan said Trump’s plan was “deeply troubling and unjust”, adding that “Palestinian land belongs to Palestinian people”. Iran said it “categorically rejected and condemned” Trump’s proposal.
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Human Rights Watch warned that the Trump’s proposal could move the US “from being complicit in war crimes to direct perpetration of atrocities”. Forced or coerced displacement is a crime against humanity, illegal under the Geneva conventions, to which Israel and the US are signatories. “Governments should together make clear their strong opposition to Trump’s call for forced displacement in Gaza and take action to prevent further atrocities against the Palestinian people,” HRW Middle East and North Africa director Lama Fakih said.
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At least 47,583 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since October 2023, according to the Palestinian health ministry on Thursday. The ministry’s latest daily update also said a total of 111,633 have now been injured.
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Israel informed the United Nations human rights council (UNHRC) it is formally withdrawing from the body. Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said the decision was reached “in light of the ongoing and unrelenting institutional bias against Israel in the human rights council.”
As we reported earlier, the international criminal court (ICC) has been bracing itself for US sanctions since Donald Trump’s inauguration last month.
Trump has been a vocal critic of the ICC since it issued arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, along with several Hamas leaders simultaneously.
At the time, the ICC said it had found reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility for … the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
In addition, the three-judge panel said there were reasonable grounds to believe they bear criminal responsibility “as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population”.
The ICC relies on 125 member states of the Rome statute to execute arrest warrants. Neither Israel nor the US are members.
