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Former U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), blasting its actions as “illegal and unjustifiable” after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
With an executive order signed this week, Trump has barred senior ICC officials, their employees, and even close relatives from entering the U.S. The order also allows for freezing any assets they may hold under U.S. jurisdiction. The move is a direct response to the ICC’s decision last year to pursue war crimes charges against Netanyahu and Gallant over Israel’s actions in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks.
With Trump doubling down on his pro-Israel stance and openly challenging international legal bodies, the battle between Washington and The Hague is far from over.
Trump Stands with Netanyahu
Trump’s decision to sanction the court underscores his unwavering support for Netanyahu, who was welcomed at the White House on Tuesday. U.S. lawmakers, both Republican and Democratic, have condemned the ICC’s arrest warrants, with even former President Joe Biden calling them “scandalous.” Netanyahu himself had denounced the charges as “anti-Semitic.”
This isn’t Trump’s first clash with the ICC. During his first term in office, he sanctioned the court’s former chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, over an investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan. Those sanctions were lifted under Biden’s administration, but Trump is now reviving his hardline stance against the court.
A Court Under Fire
The ICC, established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity, has faced criticism and political pushback for years. Neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member of the court, and both have long rejected its jurisdiction. The ICC’s move against Netanyahu is part of a broader crackdown on global leaders, including its controversial arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In retaliation, Moscow issued its own warrants against ICC officials.
The sanctions come just days after Trump sparked international controversy by declaring that, if reelected, the U.S. would “take control” of Gaza and “develop” the war-torn enclave—though he provided no details on how or what that would mean for Palestinians.
For now, the ICC has yet to respond publicly to the sanctions, but it previously warned that any U.S. financial or political pressure could threaten its ability to function and even “jeopardize its very existence.”
With Trump doubling down on his pro-Israel stance and openly challenging international legal bodies, the battle between Washington and The Hague is far from over.
