US Sanctions ICC Officials Over Israel Probes, Travel Bans and Asset Freezes Imposed

The State Department framed the action as part of a "whole of government campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC, which has drawn intense criticism from the administration over its attempts to charge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with war crimes and its claims of jurisdiction over American citizens. Calling the court "corrupt and fatally politicized, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctioned officials had "directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction. The ICC responded that Washington's decision would "undermine the rule of law.

"When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, the court said in a statement, "it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk. The State Department announced last month it would seek to "dismantle" the ICC, vowing to use "all the tools at our government's disposal" and "work beside every ally" toward that goal.