Actions have consequences. President-elect Donald Trump’s team is acting on that ethos and preparing to challenge the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague with sanctions after it initiated arrest warrants against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The ICC moved against the Israeli leaders on Thursday for supposed war crimes committed in Gaza by Israel as it retaliated Hamas terrorists over their deadly raid last year. The move came after President Joe Biden back in May revoked Trump’s original executive order against the ICC.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who faces sexual misconduct allegations, initiated the application for the warrants along with applications for warrants against Palestinian terrorists, all of whom have since been killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Hebrew media outlet Kan Reshet Bet reported Friday morning – as cited by 7 Israel National News – Trump is already moving even though his inauguration is still some two months off.
Sources in Washington told the news source “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.”
International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan (L) meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) in Ramallah, West Bank on December 02, 2023. (Palestinian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In addition, there are those who argue the sanctions should also be extended to the family members of those elements in the court responsible for the arrest warrants.
As Breitbart News reported previously, ICC moves against Israeli leaders — equating them with Hamas terrorists — come in the wake of Biden’s reversal of sanctions against the ICC for such investigations and offered only meek public opposition to ICC chief Kahn.
The Biden administration was even suspected, by Israelis, of using the looming ICC warrants as a way of pressuring Israel to comply with U.S. policies, such as not pursuing Hamas terrorists in the town of Rafah.
In June 2020, Trump issued Executive Order 13928, slapping sanctions on ICC officials who attempted to investigate U.S. soldiers — and soldiers of allied countries — for military actions against terrorists.
Biden revoked Trump’s order shortly after taking office. Biden and the Democrats, proclaiming “America is back,” sought to cultivate international goodwill by giving the ICC credibility and power.
