US Sanctions Four ICC Officials Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrants

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics

The United States has imposed sanctions on four senior officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC), citing their roles in authorizing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Judge Nicolas Guillou (France) – Presided over the pre-trial panel that issued the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

Judge Kimberly Prost (Canada) – Authorized investigations into alleged war crimes by U.S. personnel in Afghanistan

Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan (Fiji)

Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang (Senegal)

The U.S. Department of State, under Secretary Marco Rubio, declared the ICC a “national security threat” and accused it of engaging in “lawfare” against the United States and its allies2.

Under Executive Order 14203, the sanctions include:

Asset freezes within U.S. jurisdiction.

Travel bans to the United States

Prohibition of financial.

Prohibition of financial transactions involving U.S. persons or entities.

Blocking of property interests held directly or indirectly by the sanctioned individuals.

The move follows the ICC’s controversial decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, based on a case filed by the State of Palestine, which is a member of the ICC despite not being recognized by Washington3.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomed the sanctions, calling them a “decisive act against a smear campaign of lies against the State of Israel.” The ICC, meanwhile, has condemned the sanctions as a “flagrant attack” on judicial independence.

The U.S. and Israel are not members of the ICC, but the court asserts jurisdiction over crimes committed in member states or referred by the UN Security Council. The ICC maintains that its actions are consistent with international law and its mandate to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

The sanctions have drawn criticism from France, the United Nations, and several human rights organizations, who argue that the U.S. is undermining international justice mechanisms to shield its allies from accountability