The new United States sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court, ICC, reiterate the Trump administration’s firm backing for Israel amid widespread criticisms for its operations in the Palestinian territories.
Over the past days, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated two ICC judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, pursuant to Executive Order 14203.
The top diplomat said the duo engaged in efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent,” including voting against Israel’s appeal on December 15.
Rubio insists the US is not a member of the institution and views the ICC as “infringing on US sovereignty and lacking safeguards against political misuse, potentially allowing prosecution of American citizens.”
Noting that US policy has led to past sanctions against ICC officials probing US personnel, the Secretary said the US cooperates with the court “in certain instances and maintains a complex relationship.”
In response, the ICC called the latest designation “a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates pursuant to the mandate conferred by its States Parties from across regions.”
The court declared that it remained strongly behind its personnel and the “victims of unimaginable atrocities,” vowing to fulfill its mandate with independence and impartiality, and in the interest of sufferers of international crimes.
European nations, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands, have reaffirmed their support for the court to function as an autonomous judicial establishment.
Timeline of ICC actions & US sanctions
In 2021, based on a referral by the state of Palestine in 2018, the ICC launched a full-scale investigation into alleged war crimes in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem dating back to 2014.
The probe, expanded to include Israel’s 2023 offensive after the Hamas attacks, followed a 2020 ruling on the court’s jurisdiction. Bangladesh, Bolivia, Chile, Comoros, Djibouti, Mexico, and South Africa filed a joint referral in 2023.
In November 2024, the ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
On February 6, 2025, just over two weeks after returning to the White House, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14203, authorizing sanctions on ICC officials and others supporting the court’s work.
The order—immediately affecting ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan—blocks assets, travel, and financial services, causing significant disruption for all the concerned individuals and organizations.
In June, the U.S. designated four judges: Reine Alapini-Gansou (Benin) and Beti Hohler (Slovenia) in pre-trial chamber; Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza (Peru) and Solomy Balungi Bossa (Uganda) in the appeals chamber.
In July, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Francesca Paola Albanese, the UN Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967.
In August, four ICC officials, pre-trial and trial judges Nicolas Guillou (France) and Kimberly Prost (Canada), and deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan (Fiji) and Mame Mandiaye Niang (Senegal) were sanctioned.
In September, the U.S. designated three Palestinian NGOs—Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan), and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)—for assisting ICC investigations on Israeli nationals.
In an attempt to overturn the arrest warrants, Israel filed multiple appeals to invalidate them, accusing the ICC prosecutor Khan of bias, and challenging the court’s jurisdiction in Palestine as well as the post-October 7 Gaza war probe.
On December 15, the appeals chamber ruled Israel’s arguments on the Gaza investigation were invalid. The ICC said Jerusalem ignored the prosecutor’s notification on the referral by 7 countries, claiming the court had no legal authority
The ruling upheld the ICC’s jurisdiction and the arrest warrants for PM Netanyahu and Gallant, provoking the U.S. sanctions announced December 18, days after the Trump administration dismissed a UN resolution demanding Israel allow aid into Gaza.
