President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on Thursday sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the body of unfairly targeting the United States and Israel. The order will include financial sanctions and visa restrictions against ICC officials and their family members who assisted in investigations of U.S. citizens or allies. Last November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, which the Trump administration views as creating a “shameful moral equivalency.”
Trump has consistently argued that the ICC has no jurisdiction, legitimacy, or authority in the U.S., and neither the U.S. nor Israel are parties to the Rome Statute that established the court. The fact sheet supporting the executive order states that both countries have strong judicial systems and should not be subject to the ICC’s jurisdiction. The timing of the order’s signing appears to coincide with Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, including a meeting with Trump earlier in the week.
Earlier this year, a bill to sanction the ICC was passed by the House but blocked by Democrats in the Senate. The Trump administration’s move to sanction the ICC reflects its ongoing opposition to the court’s actions regarding U.S. and Israeli citizens, and its belief that the ICC should not have authority over either country.
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