US President Trump signs executive order sanctioning ICC over Israel probe
PTC News Desk: US President Donald Trump signed executive order while imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court for investigating Israel.
Neither the US nor Israel is a member of or recognises the court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes over his military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack against Israel in October 2023.
The first executive order places financial and visa restrictions on "individuals and their family members who assist in ICC investigations of US citizens or our allies," according to a fact sheet obtained by US media.
This move is seen as a response to the ICC's arrest warrants issued last year for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the CNN report added.
Further the report stated, the ICC warrants, which were condemned at the time by then-President Joe Biden, accused Netanyahu and Gallant of war crimes and crimes against humanity for Israel's military actions in Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
The ICC also sought the arrests of top Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was later killed.
The move by the ICC led to criticism from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Critics argue that the warrants create a false equivalence between the leader of a key US ally and the leader of a terrorist organization. While neither the US nor Israel are members of the ICC, the warrants make travel difficult to any of the 124 signatory countries that are legally required to enforce the court's decisions, the report added.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office dismissed the ICC warrants as "absurd and antisemitic".
- PTC NEWS
