Trump’s ‘Israel First’ ICC Sanctions Spark Outrage, Deemed Lawless

In the midst of worldwide condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s controversial plans to assert control over Gaza, which is currently embroiled in conflict, he also received backlash for his decision to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Attempting to bully the International Criminal Court is nothing but a desperate move to scare those committed to upholding international law and to seeking justice for war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza,” stated Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

“This policy clearly prioritizes Israel unlawfully, further tarnishing the United States’ reputation, already damaged by our involvement in the atrocities in Gaza,” Awad added. “Rather than pandering to Israel and supporting its oppressive regime, the President should prioritize our country’s interests.”

According to NewsNation, which initially broke the news about Trump’s executive order, it was “delayed from Tuesday to accommodate a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” who is currently under an ICC arrest warrant for offenses related to the Gaza assaults.

“President Trump clearly seeks to operate without any accountability for his or the extreme Israeli government’s actions, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, an indicted war criminal.”

The ICC had also issued arrest warrants in November for former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri. Neither the United States nor Israel, which supports Netanyahu’s administration, are signatories to the Rome Statute, the agreement that established the ICC to address genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression.

Trump’s executive order argues that the court “has pursued illegitimate and unfounded actions against the United States and our key ally Israel,” unjustly claiming jurisdiction and initiating preliminary investigations into American personnel and allies, including issuing unwarranted arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

“The ICC’s recent measures against Israel and the United States establish a perilous precedent that threatens the safety of current and former US personnel, including active military members, by making them vulnerable to harassment, mistreatment, and possible arrest,” the order states, referencing a 2002 US law known as the Hague Invasion Act, which authorizes the president to use military force to rescue any American or allied citizen detained by the court.

“Americans demand greater oversight of power, not less,” asserted Awad. “From his dismissal of independent US inspectors general to this order, it is evident that President Trump does not want his actions, or those of Netanyahu’s far-right government, to be overseen. The strength of America lies in its checks and balances, not the whims of one individual.”

During his first term, Trump had already sanctioned ICC officials and revoked the visa of the chief prosecutor. His latest order, as reported by NewsNation, “will impose financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their family members who assist the ICC in investigating US citizens or allies.”

According to NBC News, a White House fact sheet on the order states that “the ICC was intended as a court of last resort” and argues that “both the United States and Israel possess strong judicial systems and should not fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC.”

Charlie Hogle, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project, commented that “victims of human rights violations globally turn to the International Criminal Court when all other avenues are exhausted, and President Trump’s executive order will obstruct their pursuit of justice. The order also raises serious concerns about the First Amendment, as it exposes individuals in the United States to severe penalties for aiding the court in identifying and investigating global atrocities. This is an assault on both accountability and free speech.”

By sanctioning ICC staff and their families “simply because they investigated US torture and sought justice for Palestinians amidst Israel’s prolonged assault on Gaza, this executive order directly undermines the rule of law,” stated Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “The wide-reaching nature of the executive order aims to embolden perpetrators globally and to hinder the pursuit of international justice against the most powerful.”

Dylan Williams, vice president of government affairs at the Center for International Policy, criticized Trump’s order as “continuing his path toward making America an outcast nation” and “offering comfort to brutal dictators and other violators of human rights worldwide whom he admires.”

“Trump’s attack on the ICC shortly after proposing a crime against humanity in Gaza is no coincidence.”

“It is no coincidence that Trump’s assault on the ICC occurred just hours after he suggested that the United States commit a crime against humanity in Gaza, alongside a man wanted by the court for war crimes in that region,” Williams noted. “The goal of attacking the court is to guarantee total impunity for those, like both of them, who wish to act without any legal restraint.”

“Nations that are members of the Rome Statute should reaffirm and fulfill their obligations towards the court, including the enforcement of its warrants and orders,” he continued. “US lawmakers should view this attack on a judicial institution and its officials as they would Trump’s attempts to dismantle domestic justice systems, regardless of their personal views on specific decisions or actions by such bodies.”

Williams concluded that “defending the legitimacy of the ICC is crucial to protecting the rule of law in the United States and globally against autocratic and oligarchic forces. Those who do not strongly oppose Trump’s attack on the court—or worse, support it—are at best fair-weather friends of democracy and human rights, or at worst, complicit in their erosion.”

The visits of Netanyahu and Gallant to the US this week have sparked protests and demands for their arrest.

Punchbowl News‘ Max Cohen reported that Netanyahu met US senators, pressuring them to pass a federal bill sanctioning the ICC, which had been advanced in early last month by the House of Representatives’ Republican majority and 45 Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), according to Cohen, “expressed the Democrats’ readiness to reach a bipartisan compromise, and Netanyahu concurred that a compromise was necessary.”

This article was updated with additional comments and details after the release of the executive order by the White House.