"I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, find that the International Criminal Court (ICC), as established by the Rome Statute, has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel. The ICC has, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel, and has further abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant," the document said.
"The United States unequivocally opposes and expects our allies to oppose any ICC actions against the United States, Israel, or any other ally of the United States that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction. The United States remains committed to accountability and to the peaceful cultivation of international order, but the ICC and parties to the Rome Statute must respect the decisions of the United States and other countries not to subject their personnel to the ICC's jurisdiction, consistent with their respective sovereign prerogatives," the executive order said.
"The United States will impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC's transgressions, some of which may include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members, as their entry into our nation would be detrimental to the interests of the United States," the document said.
"I therefore determine that any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute protected persons <…> constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to address that threat," Trump said in his executive order.
On November 21, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, between at least October 8, 2023 and May 20, 2024. Both men could be criminally liable for murder, persecution and other inhumane acts, as well as for deliberately inflicting starvation on civilians as a method of warfare, the judges said.
In June 2020, Trump had already signed a similar executive order during his first term as US president, which also allowed for the introduction of restrictions on ICC members. Then the next US administration, led by Joe Biden, lifted the sanctions against the ICC that Trump had imposed during his first term in the White House from 2017-2021.
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