Washington has previously targeted judges and prosecutors for pursuing cases against American soldiers and Israeli officials
The United States is weighing whether to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a whole, in what would be the most severe escalation yet of its campaign against the tribunal, Reuters reported on Monday, citing six people familiar with the matter.
Washington has already blacklisted individual judges and prosecutors, but placing the court itself on the sanctions list could cripple its day-to-day operations, from paying staff salaries to accessing banking services and basic software. One US official said entity-wide sanctions were under consideration, though no final decision has been announced.
The pressure campaign against the Hague-based court comes after the ICC issued arrest warrants last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza, alongside charges against members of Hamas.
According to three sources, the ICC has already begun preparing for potential sanctions by paying staff salaries in advance through the end of 2025 and seeking alternative providers for banking and office software. Emergency meetings were held among court officials and with diplomats from member states to assess the potential impact.
The threat of broader sanctions has triggered pushback among the ICC’s 125 member countries, several of which plan to raise concerns at the United Nations General Assembly this week, three diplomats told Reuters. “The road of individual sanctions has been exhausted. It is now more about when, rather than if, they will take the next step,” one senior diplomat said.
The ICC was established in 2002 under the Rome Statute to prosecute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court recognizes Palestine as a member, which it says grants jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in Gaza. Israel and the US reject this interpretation and do not recognize the court’s jurisdiction.
Last month, while announcing sanctions against two ICC judges and two prosecutors, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the court as “a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare” against the United States and Israel. In February, Washington also sanctioned the ICC’s lead prosecutor Karim Khan after he sought arrest warrants against Israeli officials. Khan is currently on leave amid an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, which he denies.
