WASHINGTON, Feb 7, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump slapped
sanctions on the International Criminal Court Thursday for "illegitimate and
baseless" investigations targeting America and its ally Israel, the White
House said.

Trump signed an executive order saying the court in The Hague had "abused its
power" by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, who held talks with the US president on Tuesday.

He ordered asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and
their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court's
investigations.

The names of the individuals were not immediately released, but previous US
sanctions under Trump had targeted the court's prosecutor.

Trump's order said the tribunal had engaged in "llegitimate and baseless
actions targeting America and our close ally Israel," referring to ICC probes
into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli
troops in Gaza.

Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the court.

There was no immediate reaction from the ICC.

But the Netherlands, the court's host country, said it "regrets" Trump's
sanctions order.

"The court's work is essential in the fight against impunity," Dutch Foreign
Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on X.

The sanctions are a show of support after Netanyahu's visit to the White
House, during which Trump unveiled a plan for the United States to "take
over" Gaza and move Palestinians to other Middle Eastern countries.

The UN and legal experts have said Trump's plan would be illegal under
international law. Forcible displacement is also a crime under the ICC's
governing Rome Statute.

- 'Criminal responsibility' -

Following a request by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, judges issued arrest
warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav
Gallant, and Hamas' military chief Mohammed Deif -- whom Israel says is dead.

The court said it had found "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu and
Gallant bore "criminal responsibility" for the war crime of starvation as a
method of warfare during the Gaza war, as well as the crimes against humanity
of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.

Netanyahu has acused the court of anti-Semitism.

During his first term, Trump imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban on
the ICC's then-prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and other senior officials and
staff in 2020.

Describing it as a "kangaroo court," his then-administration made the move
after Gambian-born Bensouda launched an investigation into allegations of war
crimes against US soldiers in Afghanistan.

While his order at the time did not name Israel, Trump administration
officials said they were also angered by Bensouda's opening of a probe into
the situation in the Palestinian territories in 2019.

President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions soon after taking office in 2021.

Prosecutor Khan later effectively dropped the United States from the Afghan
investigation and focused on the Taliban instead.

Biden strongly condemned the "outrageous" warrant against Netanyahu in
November.

The US House passed a bill last month to sanction the ICC, but Senate
Democrats blocked it last week, saying the bill could backfire on US allies
and firms.

But Democrats have also expressed anger at the sanctions on Netanyahu.