Donald Trump is reportedly preparing sanctions against the International Criminal Court after the global tribunal issued an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to The Independent, sweeping sanctions could prohibit the court from carrying out transactions in dollars, cutting it off from the global financial system and drastically undermining its work.
The Trump administration has made no secret of its disdain for the court, which prosecutes war crimes and genocide worldwide. US officials want the court to drop its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders as well as a past probe into American troops in Afghanistan.
US officials told the Wall Street Journal the move could be finalised as soon as this week, during or just after the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which Netanyahu is expected to attend.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for the Israeli premier in 2024 over alleged war crimes. President Trump has said Netanyahu will not be arrested if he visits the United States, which is not a member of the ICC.
Sanctions against the court have already been drawn up, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, although the exact timing of an announcement remained unclear.
It is worth noting that Rubio in July announced a campaign to isolate the court, calling on other countries to withdraw from the tribunal. Washington has imposed sanctions on some ICC judges and prosecutors already but has held off from sanctioning the court itself.
As per Israeli media, Netanyahu is still expected to fly in for the UN General Assembly later this week, but has cut his visit short and plans to leave immediately after delivering a speech.
The prime minister will fly to New York on the day of his address on Thursday, September 24, missing a planned diplomatic visit to Texas. Netanyahu will also not meet President Donald Trump as his presence would be “quite limited.”
