US President Donald Trump signed two executive orders, one imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and another addressing what he called “anti-Christian bias,” CNN reported.
The first executive order places financial and visa restrictions on “individuals and their family members who assist in ICC investigations of US citizens or our allies,” according to a fact sheet obtained by CNN.
This move is seen as a response to the ICC’s arrest warrants issued last year for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the CNN report added. Further, the report stated that the ICC warrants, which were condemned at the time by then-President Joe Biden, accused Netanyahu and Gallant of war crimes and crimes against humanity for Israel’s military actions in Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
The ICC also sought the arrests of top Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was later killed.
The move by the ICC led to criticism from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Critics argue that the warrants create a false equivalence between the leader of a key US ally and the leader of a terrorist organisation. While neither the US nor Israel are members of the ICC, the warrants make travel difficult to any of the 124 signatory countries that are legally required to enforce the court’s decisions, the report added.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office dismissed the ICC warrants as “absurd and antisemitic”, CNN in its report said.
Netanyahu, who is in Washington, DC, this week, became the first foreign leader to visit Trump at the White House on Tuesday. During a joint press conference, Trump announced that the U.S. would “take over” the Gaza Strip. Though their relationship has been complicated in the past, Trump’s comments suggest Netanyahu could have more freedom in his policies if Trump returns to office, CNN reported. This is not the first time Trump has taken action against the ICC. During his first term, he authorised sanctions and visa restrictions on ICC officials when the court investigated alleged war crimes in Afghanistan by US and Afghan forces, as well as crimes committed by the Taliban.
Trump also signed a second executive order on Thursday to address what he called “anti-Christian bias.”
“Today, I’m signing an executive order to make our attorney general — who’s a great person, she’s going to be a great attorney general, Pam Bondi — the head of a task force brand new to eradicate anti-Christian bias,” CNN reported, citing Trump, who made the statement at an event linked to the National Prayer Breakfast.
(With inputs from ANI)
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