Trump’s sanctions condemned by ICC and Court vows to continue ‘providing justice’

The International Criminal Court (ICC) promised to continue his legal work after US President Donald Trump signed an order to impose sanctions on his staff.

The ICC said that it “was firmly” by its staff and that the order aims to harm its “independent and impartial” work.

Trump’s order accuses him of “illegitimate and baseless actions”, after the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC has also issued a mandate for a commander of Hamas.

The ICC is a global court, although the United States and Israel are not members, with the power to cause prosecution for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

In his declaration, he said: “The ICC condemns the publication by the United States of an executive decree aimed at imposing sanctions on its officials and to harm its independent and impartial legal work.”

He added that he was standing near his staff, committing “to continue to do justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities around the world”.

In recent years, the court has published arrest mandates against Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, Taliban leaders to “persecute Afghan girls and women” and The military leader of Myanmar for crimes against Muslims Rohingyas.

More than 120 countries are members, including the United Kingdom and many European nations.

The court judges said that there were “reasonable reasons” to suggest to Netanyahu, his former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and Hamas’ Mohammed DEIF – Died last year – have “criminal responsibility for the alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

But a memo of the White House broadcast Thursday accused the ICC based on The Hague of creating a “shameful moral equivalence” between Hamas and Israel by emitting the mandates at the same time.

Trump’s decree said that recent ICC actions “have created a dangerous precedent” that endangered the Americans by exposing them to “harass, abuse and arrest”.

The order adds that it “threatens to undermine the sovereignty of the United States” and “undermines” the national security and foreign policy of the United States and the allies.

The sanctions, announced while Netanyahu was in the United States, imposed financial restrictions and visa on individuals and their families who help ICC surveys on American citizens or allies.

The United Nations (UN) asked for the measure to be reversed, while Ulula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, on X that the ICC “must be able to freely continue the fight against world impunity”. She added that “Europe will always defend justice and respect for international law”.

But in a post on X Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Gideon Saar, said that he “strongly” congratulated Trump’s decree.

He said that the CPI’s actions were “immoral and have no legal basis”, accusing the court not to operate “in accordance with international law”.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Friday on Facebook that Trump’s decision was “absolutely understandable”, alleging that the ICC had “disguised itself in the biased political tool”.

The government of Hungary has received many criticisms for Keep close links with the Kremlin after its large -scale invasion of Ukraineand a invited Netanyahu to visit Despite the international arrest warrant.

A former clerk of the first chief prosecutor of the Court warned that the sanctions could have “a deep practical impact” on his operations.

“The sanctions … have the potential for freezing goods and assets, as well as suspending entry in the United States of CPI officials and their immediate family members,” Zachary Kaufman told BBC World Service .

The United States has repeatedly rejected any jurisdiction by the organization on US officials or citizens, and accused the ICC of putting constraints on the law of Israel to self-defense, while ignoring the Iranian groups and Anti-Israelis.

During his first mandate, Trump imposed sanctions on the CPI officials who were investigating to find out if the American forces had committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

It understood A ban on travel and assets freezes against the former chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

These sanctions were lifted by the administration of President Joe Biden.

Last month, the House of Representatives of the United States voted to sanction the ICC, but the bill was based in the Senate.

In response to the efforts of what they have described as attempts to challenge the CPI authority, nine nations – including South Africa and Malaysia – launched the “Hague group” last month in the aim of defending the court and its decisions.

During his last weeks in power, President Biden also criticized the CPI’s mandate for Netanyahu, calling the “scandalous” move and saying that there was no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.

Trump’s decree, on the other hand, said that “the two nations [the US and Israel] are prosperous democracies with soldiers who adhere strictly to the laws of war “.

The case of the CPI prosecutor against Netanyahu and Gallant has found reasonable reasons for believing that they “each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-performers for having committed acts jointly with others: war crime famine as a method of war; and crimes against humanity, persecution and other inhuman acts “.

He also found reasonable reasons for believing that “each criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for war crime to intentionally direct an attack on the civilian population”.

Trump’s signing of his last decree follows his announcement at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister on Tuesday on A plan for the United States to “take control” from GazaReinstall its Palestinian population and transform the territory into “Riviera du Middle East”.

After the Arab leaders and the UN condemned the idea, The American president retired On his social networks platform of truth on Thursday.

Follow the twists and turns of the second presidential term of Trump with the correspondent of North Anthony Zurcher Weekly US policy Unpun Bulletin. UK readers can Register here. Those outside the United Kingdom can Register here.