Trump mulling sanctions on ICC judges over Netanyahu arrest warrant – report

The president-elect is reportedly preparing a list of possible sanctions for the International Criminal Court, including personal measures targeting chief prosecutor Karim Khan and ICC judges, after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

The incoming Trump administration is drafting a list of possible measures to take against the International Criminal Court at The Hague in response to the court’s decision Thursday to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported Friday.

U.S. sources cited in the Kan report said the president-elect and his advisers are currently mulling possible sanctions against the International Criminal Court, including punitive actions targeting not only ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, but also the ICC judges who signed off on the arrest warrants.

“The possibility is of imposing personal sanctions not only on the prosecutor or the court – but also on the judges themselves who issued the order,” one source was quoted as saying.

Trump’s National Security Advisor-designate Michael Waltz, who currently represents Florida’s 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, castigated the ICC’s decision Thursday as “antisemitic.”

“The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the U.S. government,” Waltz tweeted.

“Israel has lawfully defended its people & borders from genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January.”

Congressional Republican leaders also condemned the ICC for issuing the arrest warrants, pledging to move forward with legislation sanctioning the court.

“The ICC’s decision to target America’s ally, Israel, is antisemitic, reprehensible, and completely ridiculous,” House Speaker Mike Johnson tweeted.

“It has absolutely no jurisdiction over Israel or the United States, and these illegitimate warrants are an attack on the very concepts of sovereignty and due process.”

“The U.S. Senate should vote immediately on the bipartisan Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, and President Biden should take clear steps to prevent these warrants from being enforced. If Senator Schumer and President Biden do not act now, they will most assuredly invite future lawfare against Israel and the United States. We cannot afford to show weakness.”