ICC braces for swift Trump sanctions over Israeli arrest warrants
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Leadership at international criminal court fears new US administration will move quickly to shut it down. The international criminal court is bracing itself for Donald Trump to launch aggressive economic sanctions against it this week, amid fears such a move could paralyse its work and pose an existential threat.
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ICC officials are preparing for Trump’s new US administration to act quickly once in office to impose draconian financial and travel restrictions against the court and senior staff, including its chief prosecutor and judges. The threat of US sanctions has loomed over the ICC since it issued arrest warrants in November against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
In response to the warrants, the US House of Representatives voted earlier this month to impose sanctions on the ICC, advancing legislation that Republican leaders have said will soon be voted on in the Senate. However, multiple ICC sources said the court’s leadership fears Trump will not wait for the legislation but launch a swift assault by issuing an executive order creating the legal basis for multiple rounds of sanctions.
According to interviews with officials and diplomats familiar with the ICC’s preparations, the court is planning for a “worst case scenario” in which the US imposes sanctions against the institution in addition to measures targeting individuals.
