The incoming US president is expected to target the International Criminal Court with an executive order this week.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) anticipates a swift and potentially crippling response from the new US administration, which could severely hamper its operations and threaten its very existence, according to The Guardian, citing internal sources. This action is reportedly in retaliation for the court’s November arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
ICC officials are preparing for President Donald Trump to implement stringent financial and travel sanctions against the court, its chief prosecutor, and its judges, possibly as early as this week, The Guardian reports.
While the US House of Representatives recently voted in favor of sanctions against the ICC, awaiting Senate approval, court sources fear Trump might circumvent Congress by issuing an executive order to enact these restrictions.
The potential measures could severely restrict the ICC’s access to banking and payment systems, IT infrastructure, and insurance providers, The Guardian notes.
Sources within the prosecutor’s office have voiced concerns about the ICC’s heavy reliance on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform for its operations, warning that losing access would severely impede investigations. “We essentially store all of our evidence in the cloud,” one source explained.
“The worry is that these sanctions will be used to shut down the court completely, to destroy it rather than simply hinder its work,” an ICC official told The Guardian.
Trump maintained a close relationship with Netanyahu during his previous term. Trump’s team also reportedly played a key role in brokering the recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Gaza-based militant group Hamas.
During his first term, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move previous US administrations had avoided due to the city’s contested status and its significance to both Israelis and Palestinians.
In 2020, Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC following the court’s investigations into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan committed by all parties involved, including the US. These sanctions were lifted in 2021 under President Joe Biden.