Trump signs order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel

Table of Contents

Australian Prime Minister Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court over investigations into Israel, an important international ally of the US.

Neither the US nor Israel are part of the international court or acknowledge its authority. Israel is a close ally of the US, and the court has recently issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in relation to his actions towards Palestinians in Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians, including kids, have been killed as a result of the Israeli military's response.

The order Trump signed blames the ICC of going after a "legitimacy and a lack thereof regarding the actions it has taken against America and its close mate Israel" and of overstaying its authority by issuing "baseless arrest warrants" against Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

“The Court of the ICC doesn't have power over the United States or Israel,” the order says, noting that the court had set a “harmful precedent” with its actions against both countries.”

Morrison's action came as Morrison was visiting Washington. He and Morrison had a chat Tuesday at the White House, and Morrison spent some of Thursday meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

The order states that the US will bring "tangible and significant consequences" on those responsible for the ICC's "transgressions". Measures may include freezing assets and blocking property, and halting entry into the US for ICC staff, employees and their families.

Human rights activists said slapping sanctions on court officials would have a chilling effect and go against American interests in other conflict zones where the court's inquiring.

Gobsmacked Australians who're victims of human rights abuses around the world will struggle to seek justice through the International Criminal Court if this executive order gets the green light, said Charlie Hogle, the Yank bloke working with the ACLU's National Security Project.

Hogle reckons the order is a crack at holdin' people accountable and allowin' them to speak their minds.

Like Israel, the US is not among the 124 countries that make up the court and has always been sceptical that a "Global Court" of unelected judges could unfairly target US officials. A 2002 law gives the Pentagon the power to free any American or US ally held by the court. In 2020, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on the former chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, after she decided to investigate war crimes committed by all parties, including the US, in Afghanistan.

However, these sanctions were lifted under President Joe Biden, and the US started to co-operate with the tribunal a bit more - especially after Khan in 2023 charged Russian President Vladimir Putin with war crimes in Ukraine.

Any sanctions could cripple the court by making it more difficult for investigators to travel and by compromising evidence-security technology developed in the US. The court suffered a major cyber attack last year, locking employees out of files for weeks.

Some European countries are pushing back. The Netherlands, back in the last quarter, called on other ICC members "to work together to reduce the risks of these possible sanctions, so that the court can keep going on and meet its responsibilities."