The International Criminal Court (ICC) has condemned the sanctions imposed by the United States on four of its judges, calling it a “clear attempt” at undermining the court’s independence.
The United States imposed sanctions earlier Thursday on four ICC judges, including over an arrest warrant for the Israeli regime’s convicted prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Under the sanctions, the four female judges will be barred from entering the US, and any property or interests they hold there will be frozen. These measures are typically taken against policymakers from US adversaries, rather than judicial officials.
Rejecting the move, the ICC affirmed its unwavering support for its personnel, vowing to continue its work undeterred.
“These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all corners of the globe,” the court said in a statement from The Hague.
The court emphasized that targeting those working for accountability only emboldens people who believe they can act with impunity.
“The ICC stands fully behind its personnel, and will continue its work undeterred,” it said.
“Targeting those working for accountability does nothing to help civilians trapped in conflict. It only emboldens those who believe they can act with impunity,” the statement added.
In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs, Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes related to Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The ruling obliged all the 125 countries, which signed the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, to detain and surrender the pair to the Hague-based court.
The United States and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, which investigates individuals suspected of the world’s worst crimes.
The world court said it “provides justice and hope to millions of victims of unimaginable atrocities.”
Israel unleashed its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Hamas resistance group carried out its historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 54,677 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 125,530 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
