ICC president vows to 'resist' US sanctions over Gaza genocide probe
The measures freeze any US assets held by targeted ICC officials and cut them off from the US-controlled financial system
The president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Tomoko Akane, has warned that US sanctions imposed over the court's investigation into Israeli war crimes in Gaza will not alter how judges interpret their mandate or handle cases.
Speaking to representatives of the ICC’s 125 member states at the annual meeting in The Hague, Akane said the sanctions campaign ordered earlier this year by US President Donald Trump has “unsettled” the daily lives of officials and disrupted their financial transactions, including in European member states.
The sanctions essentially freeze any US assets the officials may hold, effectively barring them from the US-controlled global banking system, which underpins the vast majority of international financial transactions.
The latest sanctions list includes nine ICC officials, among them six judges and Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan. Sources say the US is now weighing sanctions against the entire institution.
A Le Monde investigation found that Israel and the US led a year-long campaign to stop the ICC from issuing Gaza war-crimes warrants, pressuring Khan through political interventions, jurisdictional challenges, and smear efforts.
Akane stressed that the tribunal “never accept[s] any kind of pressure from anyone on issues of interpretation of the statutory framework and adjudication of cases,” underscoring that the sanctions, though intrusive, have not influenced the court’s work.
Washington imposed the measures in retaliation for investigations into Israeli war crimes committed in occupied Palestine and a separate inquiry examining crimes in Afghanistan linked to the US military.
The confrontation intensified after the court ruled there were “reasonable grounds” to conclude that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant bear “criminal responsibility” for crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The ICC later refused Israel’s attempt to appeal the arrest warrants, saying the request was “not an appealable issue.” Netanyahu, Gallant, and named Hamas figures deny the allegations.
Neither Israel nor the US is a member of the court, which recognizes Palestine as a state party and asserts jurisdiction over crimes committed in its territory.
The ICC relies on member states to enforce warrants and does not possess its own police force.