The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday criticized an executive order by U.S. President Donald J. Trump that imposes sanctions on the globalist organization, asserting that it threatens their independent judicial operations. President Trump’s directive, announced on Thursday, warned of significant consequences for those involved in investigations deemed to jeopardize U.S. national security and that of its allies, including Israel.
Previously, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. The Israeli military began operations in Gaza to uproot and destroy the Hamas terrorist group after the latter perpetrated a large-scale attack against the Jewish State on October 7, 2023, taking several hundred hostages and killing over 1,200.
In a statement Friday, the ICC reaffirmed its commitment to its staff and its mission to deliver what it regards as justice. The court, established by the 1998 Rome Statute treaty, has the mandate to prosecute cases of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. However, neither Israel nor the United States are technically signatories to the Rome Statute—the treaty establishing the ICC—having withdrawn their assent in 2002.
Several U.S. presidential administrations have criticized the ICC, contending that the international judicial body has “insufficient checks and balances on the authority of the ICC prosecutor and judges” and “insufficient protection against politicized prosecutions or other abuses.” Additionally, the ICC has become deeply unpopular on the African continent, where numerous governments claim it only represents the interests of Western nations and their “imperial” ambitions.