Trump is reminding the world who is in charge.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order that will impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC). This move comes in response to the ICC’s attempts to target the United States and its allies, particularly Israel. The executive order will impose both financial sanctions and visa restrictions on ICC officials and their families who have been involved in investigations of U.S. citizens or those from allied countries.
This action follows growing frustration among conservatives with the ICC’s overreach, particularly after it issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and several Hamas leaders. The Trump administration argued that this was an unjust attempt to draw a “shameful moral equivalency” between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas. The ICC’s charges, including accusations that Netanyahu and Gallant used starvation as a method of warfare in Gaza, were strongly denied by Israeli officials, who viewed the claims as not only false but also rooted in antisemitism.
This order coincides with Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, where he met with Trump in the Oval Office. The timing of the executive order appears to emphasize Trump’s unwavering support for Israel and his continued rejection of the ICC’s authority over sovereign nations like the United States and Israel.
As Trump pointed out during his first term, the ICC has “no jurisdiction, no legitimacy, and no authority” in the U.S. Both the U.S. and Israel are not signatories to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, meaning they are not subject to its jurisdiction. The U.S. and Israel both have strong judicial systems in place and should never be subjected to the reach of an international body like the ICC, the fact sheet outlining the executive order states.
Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a bill to impose sanctions on the ICC, though the legislation was blocked in the Senate by Democrats. The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, does not have the ability to enforce its own arrest warrants, relying on member states to carry out its mandates. However, many countries, including the U.S. and Israel, refuse to acknowledge the court’s jurisdiction, especially when it comes to their leaders. This latest action underscores the Trump administration’s continued defense of American and Israeli sovereignty, ensuring that both nations are not subject to international interference from a politically motivated court.