In Defense of Israel.. Trump Punishes the International Criminal Court and Declares a National Emergency Against It

The White House announced that US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court, criticizing its issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

Trump said in press statements that the International Criminal Court had engaged in "unlawful and baseless actions" targeting the United States and its close ally Israel, and had "baselessly claimed jurisdiction over individuals from the United States and some of its allies, including Israel."

Trump defended Israel, saying it is "a democratic state whose military strictly adheres to the laws of war," considering that "the actions taken by the International Criminal Court against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent... and malign behavior that threatens to violate American sovereignty and undermine national security and foreign policy."

The US President continued his statements by considering that the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction over America or Israel, stressing that Washington "unequivocally opposes any measures taken by the International Criminal Court against Israel," and that it expects its allies to oppose these measures.

Trump added that "the ICC must respect the decisions of America and other countries not to subject their employees to the jurisdiction of the court," stressing that Washington will impose "tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC's abuses," referring in this regard to blocking property and assets and suspending the entry of court officials into the United States.

Trump said he was declaring "a national emergency to address the threat posed by the ICC's efforts."

Trump's signing of the executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court comes after Democrats in the US Senate last week blocked Republican efforts to punish the court, in protest of two arrest warrants it issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

The ICC did not immediately comment on the US decision, but it has taken proactive steps to protect its staff from potential US sanctions, paying three months' salaries in advance and preparing for financial restrictions that could hamper its work.

In December 2023, the court’s president, Judge Tomoko Akane, warned that US sanctions could “undermine the court’s operations in all cases and jeopardize its very existence.”

This is not the first time the United States has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court. In 2020, during the first Trump administration, Washington imposed sanctions on then-Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides, due to the court’s investigations into war crimes committed by US forces in Afghanistan.

(Al Jazeera Net)