'Abused its power': Trump sanctions International Criminal Court
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US President Donald Trump, Image credit: AP/PTI
Washington: US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), signing an executive order on Thursday, claiming that the court ordered “baseless” investigations targeting the US and its close ally Israel. Trump also claimed that the court abused its power by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Agence France-Presse reported.
The Trump move comes two days after his meeting with the war crimes and crimes against humanity accused Netanyahu.
According to the Trump order, the court engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America as well as Israel. The order was referring to the court’s probe into war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza. Through the order, Trump froze assets and slapped travel bans on ICC officials, employees and their family members, as well as anyone deemed to have helped the court’s investigations, AFP reported.
Following Netanyahu’s visit to Trump, the latter announced a plan to “take over” Gaza and move Palestinians to other Middle Eastern countries. The statement, however, received widespread outrage even from the Congress party in India.
It was on November 21, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against mass murder/genocide accused Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yaov Gallant. The warrant was approved after an application by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in May, accusing the Israeli President of
The warrants, approved after an application by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in May, are for "crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024."