The Trump administration on Wednesday announced sanctions against four more members of the International Criminal Court over their efforts to prosecute Israeli and American officials.
The move, announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lauded the US for working to counter the “false smear campaign” against Jerusalem.
The US designated Judge Nicolas Yann Guillou of France for signing off last year on arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza, along with deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal for upholding those warrants.
Judge Kimberly Prost of Canada was also designated for a ruling that authorized the ICC’s investigation into US personnel in Afghanistan.
In response, the ICC on Wednesday decried the sanctions as a “flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution that operates under the mandate from 125 states parties from all regions.”
In a statement, the court said the sanctions “constitute also an affront against the Court’s States Parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world,” the court added. “The ICC will continue fulfilling mandates in strict accordance with its legal framework, without regard to any pressure or threat.”
Netanyahu hailed the announcement of the sanctions, calling them a decisive stand in defense of Israel.
“I congratulate Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, for deciding to impose sanctions on the judges of the International Court in The Hague,” Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office. “This is a firm step against the false smear campaign targeting the State of Israel and the IDF, and in favor of truth and justice.”
The four ICC officials join four others who were sanctioned by the Trump administration in June, two of whom were also involved in the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
The sanctions announced on Wednesday freeze any US assets of the designated officials and block their entry to the country.
Israel and the US view the ICC’s efforts to prosecute Israeli officials as illegitimate, as Jerusalem is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that created the court and because the US doesn’t recognize the Palestinian Authority as a sovereign state with the right to request such action. Israel also denies the charges brought against Netanyahu and Gallant.
“The United States has been clear and steadfast in our opposition to the ICC’s politicization, abuse of power, disregard for our national sovereignty, and illegitimate judicial overreach,” Rubio said in a statement announcing the latest batch of sanctions.
“The court is a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel,” he added.
“It remains the policy of the United States government to take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our troops, our sovereignty, and our allies from the ICC’s illegitimate and baseless actions,” Rubio continued. “I urge countries that still support the ICC, many of whose freedom was purchased at the price of great American sacrifices, to resist the claims of this bankrupt institution.”
France on Wednesday expressed dismay at the US decision.
A foreign ministry spokesman said the sanctions, including against French jurist Guillou, stood “in contradiction to the principle of an independent judiciary.”
In June, the US introduced sanctions against judges Beti Hohler of Slovenia and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin for their part in proceedings that led the court to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, and against Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru and Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, for their roles in the court proceedings that authorized an investigation into alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan.
And in February, chief ICC prosecutor Karim Khan was placed on Washington’s list of “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons,” barring him from doing business with Americans and placing restrictions on his entry into the US. Khan took a leave of absence earlier this year amid an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.
The Trump administration’s dislike of the court goes back to his first term. In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over the court’s work on Afghanistan. Those sanctions were rescinded by president Joe Biden’s administration in early 2021.
Trump on Friday welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Alaska even though Putin faces an ICC arrest warrant, a factor that has stopped him from traveling more widely since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
Stav Levaton and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.