Targeting the Targeters

More than 70 countries condemned US President Donald Trump’s executive order which imposed financial sanctions and visa restrictions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), warning that the move threatens the international rule of law and undermines accountability for war crimes, NBC News reported.

The US sanctions announced Friday target ICC staff involved in the issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued in November 2024 over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip conflict.

The warrant also named Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh – all of whom were killed during Israeli operations last year.

The court accused Netanyahu and Gallant of using “starvation as a weapon of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and targeting civilians. Meanwhile, Hamas leaders are facing charges for the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that killed around 1,200 people and resulted in more than 250 hostages taken to Gaza.

Israel and the US, both non-members of the ICC, dismissed the charges as politically motivated.

Trump’s order allows the US to freeze assets and restrict travel for ICC officials, with sources confirming that ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan is the first official targeted. Trump defended the move as a response to “illegitimate and baseless actions” that endanger US personnel, while Netanyahu welcomed the decision, according to the Guardian.

The move drew condemnation from 79 countries, including US allies in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Mexico.

French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed support for the ICC and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned the move “jeopardizes an institution meant to hold war criminals accountable.”

The United Nations human rights agency urged the US to reverse the decision.

With tensions rising, the ICC held emergency meetings on Friday, warning that US actions could disrupt its operations and threaten ongoing investigations, including those against Russian President Vladimir Putin for the abduction of Ukrainian children.

Ukraine also expressed concern that the US sanctions could undermine accountability efforts for Russian war crimes.

The US has had a complicated relationship with the ICC since it was formed in 1998: It was not involved in negotiating the 1998 Rome Statute that formed the court and also opposed the charter over concerns it “could subject US soldiers and officials to politicized prosecutions,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

In 2020, Trump imposed sanctions on former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who was investigating alleged war crimes by Israeli forces, Hamas, and the US military in Afghanistan.

The Biden administration lifted those sanctions in 2021.