WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will sign an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court on Thursday over what the White House says are biased attacks on the U.S. and close ally Israel.
Trump intends to place financial and visa sanctions on anyone who assists the ICC in investigating U.S. citizens or America’s allies, according to a White House fact sheet. He will also impose punishing actions on those individuals’ family members.
The ICC, which is seated in The Hague in the Netherlands, issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, in November over alleged war crimes in Gaza. It issued a warrant for a senior leader of Hamas at the same time.
Israel and Hamas have since reached a ceasefire agreement that involves the release of hostages taken by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
The White House accused the ICC of “biased attacks” and a “disproportionate focus on Israel” in its investigation into the conflict.
Republicans in the U.S. Senate sought to pass legislation sanctioning the ICC last month but could not overcome Democratic opposition to the bill.
At his confirmation hearing in January, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes was a test of power the ICC could try to wield against other nonmember nations such as the United States.
Like Israel, the U.S. is not a party to the international treaty that established the ICC.
“I think the United States should be very concerned, because I believe this is a test run for applying it to American service members and American leaders in the future,” Rubio said.
Netanyahu is currently in the U.S. meeting with lawmakers. He held talks with Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
