US imposes sanctions against ICC chief prosecutor Khan over arrest warrant for PM Netanyahu

The Trump administration has imposed legal sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan. This move by Washington comes less than three months after Khan played a key role in the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes during the conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

Khan, who is a British national, has reportedly been added to the Trump administration’s blacklist, which will prevent him from entering the United States. The ICC responded by condemning the decision and stating, "We will continue to provide justice and hope to millions of innocent victims worldwide."

The imposed sanctions against Khan will take effect just one week after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order against ICC officials and rejected the “baseless arrest warrants” against the leaders of America’s close ally, Israel.

“The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is a party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC,” the executive order reads. “Neither country has ever recognized the ICC's jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war.”

In November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, accusing them of “war crimes, starvation, crimes against humanity” in the war against the Hamas terrorist organization. Israeli leaders across the political spectrum have strongly rejected the ICC’s charges and even accused it of harboring antisemitism.

“The court in The Hague accuses us of a deliberate policy of starvation. This – when we have supplied Gaza with 700,000 tons of food to feed the people of Gaza. That’s 3,200 calories (per day) for every man, woman and child in Gaza… Yet, just in the last few weeks, Israel facilitated the vaccination of 97 percent of the people of Gaza against polio. This doesn’t prevent the court of accusing us of genocide,” Netanyahu stated.

“This is an anti-Semitic decision that has one goal: to deter me, to deter us, from exercising our natural right of self-defense against the enemies who rose up to destroy us,” Netanyahu emphasized.

The former Biden administration also condemned the ICC’s inaccurate accusations against Israeli leaders.

“The ICC issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. Let me be clear once again: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas.  We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” former U.S. President Joe Biden stated.

It is the first time in the history of the ICC that the court has issued arrest warrants against democratically elected leaders.

In December, the Israeli government tried to appeal against the ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, arguing that the court had violated foundational principles by ruling outside its legal jurisdiction. Israel and its allies have also blasted the ICC for creating a false symmetry between the democratic State of Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization.

The ICC’s controversial decision divided the Western world into countries that rejected the decision and countries, such as Ireland and Spain, that vowed to uphold the ICC’s decision against Israeli leaders.

In January, Khan urged the ICC to reject the Israeli appeal. The top court official also urged ICC member states to uphold the court’s decision.

"I appeal to all states parties to live up to their commitment to the Rome Statute by respecting and complying with these judicial orders. We count on their cooperation in this situation, as with all other situations under the court’s jurisdiction. We also welcome collaboration with non-state parties in working toward accountability and upholding international law," Khan stated.