Washington: The U.S. Department of State on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four individuals currently serving on the International Criminal Court (ICC) for having directly engaged in actions by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute U.S. and Israeli personnel with no consent from the two countries.
Two ICC judges were designated for authorizing the ICC’s investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan, and authorizing the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Two ICC deputy prosecutors were designated for continuing to support illegitimate ICC actions against Israel, including upholding the ICC’s arrest warrants targeting Netanyahu and Gallant, according to the State Department.
“As a result of today’s sanctions-related actions, all property and interests in property of the sanctioned persons described above that are in the United States or in possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC),” said the State Department.
The ICC responded Wednesday by stating that “these sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all regions. They 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.”
France, on the same day, expressed dismay at the U.S. decision in a statement. It once again expressed solidarity with the judges targeted and reaffirmed unwavering support for the ICC and its staff.
The United States has previous records of sanctioning ICC judges. On June 5, four ICC judges were sanctioned.
