Weeks after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to sanction the International Criminal Court in The Hague, in part due to the court’s arrest warrants of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the ICC said it is bracing itself for even harsher economic sanctions from U.S. President Donald Trump, according to The Guardian.
Multiple ICC sources claimed that they feared Trump would not wait for the legislation but “launch a swift assault” via executive orders. The court is preparing for a “worst-case scenario,” where Washington not only imposes sanctions on individuals but against the entire institution.
“The concern is the sanctions will be used to shut the court down, to destroy it rather than just tie its hands,” an ICC official said. (JNS has reached out to the ICC for confirmation).
Trump previously issued sanctions against former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top officials during his first term in 2020.
Israel does not fall under the official jurisdiction of the ICC; however, chief prosecutor Karim Khan, who is under investigation for sexual misconduct, has insisted that he still has jurisdiction over the country.