US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday (Feb 6) sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the global body of improperly targeting America and Israel, NBC News reported, as it obtained a copy of a fact sheet supporting the order. 

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The upcoming order will also include both financial sanctions and visa restrictions against unspecified ICC officials and their family members who have assisted in ICC investigations of US citizens or allies. 

The ICC triggered a bipartisan backlash in Washington in November last year as it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and several Hamas leaders. 

Also read: International Criminal Court prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu, 3 Hamas leaders

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'Shameful moral equivalency'

According to the Trump administration's order, it claimed that this created a "shameful moral equivalency."

The ICC stressed that there was a reason to believe that the Israeli PM and Gallant used "starvation as a method of warfare" by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting civilians in Gaza. 

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The Israeli officials dismissed the allegations, calling them false and antisemitic. 

Also read: 'No US soldiers needed': Trump restates his takeover plan, says Israel would hand over Gaza after fighting

On the first day of his office, Trump signed an executive order reinstating an earlier order that could serve as a legal basis for future sanctions against the ICC and its personnel. 

Last month, the US House of Representatives also voted to impose sanctions on the ICC, although the legislation has yet to be okayed in the Senate.

Also read: From foreign aid freeze to ending birthright citizenship, series of Trump's actions that defy US laws

Trump, during his first term, said that the ICC has "no jurisdiction, no legitimacy, and no authority" in the US, and neither the US nor Israel are parties to the "so-called Rome Statute", which established the court. 

(With inputs from agencies)