Israel backs U.S. sanctions on ICC over Netanyahu warrant

The Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC). These sanctions are in response to the ICC's issuance of an arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Saar described the Tribunal's actions as "immoral and having no legal basis."

Gideon Saar emphasized that the ICC has no jurisdiction to prosecute Israeli citizens, as the country, like the United States, is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the Tribunal.

The ICC aggressively pursues the elected leaders of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, Saar wrote on the X service.

President Trump signed an order imposing sanctions on the ICC and those supporting the Tribunal in prosecuting Americans and representatives of Israeli authorities, as well as other U.S. allies.

The document condemned the ICC's issuance in November 2024 of the arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Galant. The Tribunal accuses them of responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has repeatedly rejected the ICC's accusations, describing them as "false, absurd, and anti-Semitic." Saar believes that both the U.S. and Israel "are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war."

Trump's decision has already been condemned by the ICC and the head of the European Council. "The ICC condemns the issuance by the US of an Executive Order seeking to impose sanctions on its officials and harm its independent and impartial judicial work," the Tribunal emphasized in a statement.