US Imposes Sanctions on ICC Judges over Israel Arrest Warrants

The United States, under the direction of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has imposed sanctions on four additional International Criminal Court (ICC) judges and prosecutors involved in investigations targeting Israeli and U.S. officials, freezing their U.S. assets and barring entry to the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the move, calling it a decisive action against what he described as a false smear campaign against Israel and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and a defense of truth and justice. The sanctioned individuals include French Judge Nicolas Yann Guillou, who approved arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, two deputy prosecutors from Fiji and Senegal, and Canadian Judge Kimberly Prost, who approved investigations into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. The sanctions follow a previous round imposed in June, reflecting ongoing tensions over the ICC's jurisdiction, which Israel and the U.S. reject since neither is a party to the Rome Statute. Secretary Rubio characterized the ICC as a threat to national security and an instrument of lawfare against the U.S. and Israel. The ICC, an independent court prosecuting war crimes and crimes against humanity, has not yet responded to the latest sanctions.