The Blubber

President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing it of "illegitimate and baseless actions" targeting the United States and its ally Israel.

The order enforces financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who support ICC investigations into American citizens or allied nations.

In January, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to sanction the ICC after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies. The court also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.

The ICC said it "regrets any attempts to undermine the court's independence, integrity, and impartiality." The U.S. is not a member of the ICC and rejects its jurisdiction over American officials or citizens.

The executive order argues that the ICC's actions set a "dangerous precedent" that puts Americans at risk of "harassment, abuse, and possible arrest," and it warns that such conduct threatens U.S. sovereignty, national security, and foreign policy interests, especially those involving Israel.

The White House has accused the ICC of creating a "shameful moral equivalency" between Hamas and Israel by issuing simultaneous warrants for Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander, according to a White House fact sheet.

Trump has long criticized the ICC and previously imposed sanctions on its officials for investigating possible war crimes by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, blocking their assets and banning them from entering the U.S.

Founded in 2002 to prosecute atrocities like genocide and war crimes, the ICC can only investigate crimes committed after July 2002 when the Rome Statute, its founding treaty, took effect. More than 120 countries have ratified the statute, though the U.S. is not among them.