US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), as had been reported earlier.
The executive order states that the ICC “has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”
“The ICC has, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel, and has further abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.”
“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. Neither country has ever recognized the ICC's jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war. The ICC's recent actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces, by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest,” the order states.
“This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States Government and our allies, including Israel,” it adds.
“The United States unequivocally opposes and expects our allies to oppose any ICC actions against the United States, Israel, or any other ally of the United States that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction. The United States remains committed to accountability and to the peaceful cultivation of international order, but the ICC and parties to the Rome Statute must respect the decisions of the United States and other countries not to subject their personnel to the ICC's jurisdiction, consistent with their respective sovereign prerogatives,” Trump’s order states.
“The United States will impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC's transgressions, some of which may include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members, as their entry into our Nation would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
The order also states that any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute protected persons constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
Protected persons are defined as current or former members of the US armed forces; current or former elected or appointed US government officials; any foreign person that is a citizen or lawful resident of a US ally that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction; current or former members of the armed forces of US allies; current or former elected or appointed government officials of US allies; or any other person currently or formerly employed by or working on behalf of such a government.
Last month, the House of Representatives approved legislation aimed at sanctioning officials from the ICC in wake of the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
However, Democrats blocked the bill from passing in the Senate. The final vote count was 54-45, falling short of the 60 votes required to advance the bill.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan recently defended his decision to pursue an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, claiming that Israel had made “no real effort” to independently investigate claims that it committed war crimes.
“We're here as a court of last resort and... as we speak right now, we haven’t seen any real effort by the State of Israel to take action that would meet the established jurisprudence, which is investigations regarding the same suspects for the same conduct,” Khan claimed to Reuters.
“That can change, and I hope it does,” he added, speaking after Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire in Gaza.