The United States is considering imposing sanctions against the entire International Criminal Court this week in retaliation for investigations of suspected Israeli war crimes. The sanctions could put the court’s day-to-day operations in jeopardy. Washington has already imposed targeted sanctions on several prosecutors and judges at the court and naming the court itself in the sanctions list would be a major escalation.
Israel and the United States are not ICC members. However, the court considers the state of Palestine as a member and has ruled that this gives it jurisdiction over actions on Palestinian territory. Israel and the United States reject this notion. The White House imposed sanctions in February on the court’s lead prosecutor, Karim Khan, who had requested the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
As per an exclusive Reuters report, six sources, all speaking on condition of anonymity, said a decision on such “entity sanctions” was expected soon.
A source said the court officials had already held emergency meetings to discuss the impact of the probable blanket sanctions.
A US State Department spokesperson accused the court of asserting what it said was its “purported jurisdiction” over US and Israeli personnel and said that Washington was going to take further steps.
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“It (the ICC) has the opportunity to change course by making critical and appropriate structural changes. The US will take additional steps to protect our brave service members and others as long as the ICC continues to present a threat to our national interests,” the spokesperson said.
What is the International Criminal Court?
The ICC was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression when member states are unwilling or unable to do so themselves. It can prosecute crimes committed by nationals of member states or on the territory of member states by other actors.
The court has 125 member states and its budget for 2025 is about 195 million euros ($202 million).
The ICC says there are 32 cases before it, with some having more than one suspect. ICC judges have issued at least 60 arrest warrants.

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