Trump sanctions International Criminal Court, calls it 'illegitimate'

President Donald Trump has signed an enforcement bid sanctioning the International Criminal Court, accusing it of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our adjacent state Israel".

The measurement places fiscal and visa restrictions connected individuals and their families who assistance successful ICC investigations of American citizens oregon allies.

In January, the US House of Representatives voted to authorisation the ICC aft it issued apprehension warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant implicit warfare crimes allegations successful Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC besides issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.

At the time, the ICC said it "regrets immoderate attempts to undermine the court's independence, integrity and impartiality".

The US is not a subordinate of the ICC and has repeatedly rejected immoderate jurisdiction by the assemblage implicit American officials oregon citizens.

The bid says that the ICC's caller actions "set a unsafe precedent" that endanger Americans by exposing them to "harassment, maltreatment and imaginable arrest".

"This malign behaviour successful crook threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the captious nationalist information and overseas argumentation enactment of the United States authorities and our allies, including Israel," the bid says.

The White House accuses the Hague-based ICC of creating a "shameful motivation equivalency" betwixt Hamas and Israel by issuing the warrants for the Israeli leaders and a Hamas commandant astatine the aforesaid time, according to a information expanse circulated by the White House earlier.

• International Criminal Court: What is the ICC and what does it do?

The White House believes the ICC is placing constraints connected Israel's close to self-defence, portion accusing the assemblage of ignoring Iran and anti-Israel groups.

Trump has repeatedly criticised the ICC, and took respective steps to authorisation the assemblage during his archetypal word successful office.

At the time, helium besides imposed sanctions connected ICC officials who were investigating whether US forces committed warfare crimes successful Afghanistan.

The bid allowed the US to artifact the assets of ICC employees and halt them from entering the US.

In response, the ICC said that the sanctions were an "unacceptable effort to interfere with the regularisation of law".

Founded successful 2002 - successful the aftermath of the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan genocide - the ICC was formed to analyse alleged atrocities.

The tribunal tin lone woody with crimes committed aft July 2002, erstwhile the Rome Statute - which formed the ICC - came into effect.

Over 120 countries person ratified the statute, portion different 34 person signed and whitethorn ratify successful the future.

Neither the US nor Israel is enactment to the Rome Statute. The bid states that "both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war".

The ICC is simply a tribunal of past edifice and it is meant to intervene lone erstwhile nationalist authorities cannot oregon volition not prosecute.

Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, besides criticised the ICC's warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, calling the determination "outrageous" and saying determination was nary equivalence betwixt Israel and Hamas.

Trump's signing of the enforcement bid comes arsenic Netanyahu visits Washington.

In a associated property league with the Israeli premier curate this week, Trump said the US could "take over" Gaza, which helium said could go the "Riviera of the Middle East".

He again made the assertion connected his Truth Social societal media platform.

"The Gaza Strip would beryllium turned implicit to the United States by Israel astatine the decision of fighting," Trump said connected Thursday.

He repeated his content that the thought would mean resettling Palestinians, and that nary American soldiers would beryllium deployed.

His station did not marque wide whether the 2 cardinal residents of the Palestinian territory would beryllium invited to return, leaving officials scrambling to explain.

On Wednesday, White House property caput Karoline Leavitt said that immoderate displacement would beryllium temporary, portion Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Gazans would permission for an "interim" play portion reconstruction took place.

Arab leaders, quality rights organisations and the UN person condemned the idea.