On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to what the White House described as "baseless" investigations targeting the United States and its ally, Israel.

The order stated that the court, based in The Hague, had "abused its power" by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had met with Trump just two days earlier.

Furthermore, the executive order accused the ICC of engaging in "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel," citing its investigations into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza.

The U.S. president has ordered financial sanctions and travel restrictions on officials, employees, and family members connected to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and anyone assisting the court's investigations.

These sanctions come as a gesture of support following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the White House. During the visit, Trump introduced a proposal for the U.S. to "take over" Gaza and relocate Palestinians to other Middle Eastern nations.

Neither the U.S. nor Israel are members of the ICC. The ICC has yet to issue a response to these sanctions.

On November 21, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas' military commander Mohammed Deif, whom Israel claims is deceased.

The warrants were approved based on a request from ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in May. They cite allegations of "crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024."

In his first term, Trump imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban on then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, along with other senior officials and staff, in 2020.

At the time, his administration criticised the ICC as a "kangaroo court". It took action after Bensouda, who is from Gambia, initiated an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

Although Trump’s order did not specifically mention Israel, officials from his administration admitted that they were also frustrated by Bensouda’s 2019 decision to open an investigation into the situation in the Palestinian territories.

After taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden quickly reversed the sanctions.

Later, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan largely shifted the focus of the Afghanistan investigation away from the United States and concentrated on the Taliban instead.

In November, Biden condemned the ICC’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu as "outrageous."

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to impose sanctions on the ICC, but it was blocked in the Senate by Democrats, who argued that such a move could negatively impact U.S. allies and businesses.

Despite this, Democrats have also voiced strong disapproval of the ICC's decision to sanction Netanyahu.