US President Donald Trump issued an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He justified his actions by claiming that the ICC was unfairly taking actions against the US and Israel that he considered “illegitimate and baseless.”
As per BBC, Trump’s executive order imposes financial penalties and travel restrictions on individuals and their families who help the ICC investigate US citizens or allies like Israel.
Trump signed it while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington.
His executive order said the ICC's recent actions "set a dangerous precedent" that endangered Americans by exposing them to "harassment, abuse and possible arrest.”
The order further added, “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.”
Shortly after this, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar expressed “strong” approval of Trump’s executive order in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
In November, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, accusing him of war crimes in Gaza, an allegation that Israel denies.
At the same time, the ICC also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.
The ICC is an international judicial body responsible for prosecuting individuals for serious crimes like genocide, crime against humanity and war crimes.
In recent years, the ICC has taken action against many high-profile leaders.
It accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of committing war in Ukraine, Taliban leaders of persecuting Afghan girls and women and Myanmar’s military leader of crimes against the Rohingya Muslim population.
