BBC News, White House
Getty imagesPresident Donald Trump has signed an executive decree sanctioning the international criminal court, accusing him of “illegitimate actions and without foundation targeting America and our close Israel”.
The measure brings financial and visa restrictions to individuals and their families who help ICC surveys on American citizens or allies.
Trump signed the measure as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington.
Last November, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC has also issued a mandate for a commander of Hamas.
An information sheet from the White House broadcast earlier Thursday accused the ICC based on The Hague of creating a “shameful moral equivalence” between Hamas and Israel by emitting the mandates at the same time.
Trump’s decree said that recent ICC actions “have created a dangerous precedent” that endangered the Americans by exposing them to “harass, abuse and arrest”.
“This malicious conduct threatens in turn to undermine the sovereignty of the United States and undermines critical work of national security and foreign policy of the American government and our allies, including Israel,” said the order .
He adds that “the two nations [the US and Israel] are prosperous democracies with soldiers who adhere strictly to the laws of war “.
The United States is not a member of the ICC and have repeatedly rejected a court by the body of American officials or citizens.
International Criminal Court: What is the ICC and what does it do?
The White House accused the ICC of putting constraints on the right of Israel to self-defense, while accusing the body of ignoring the Iranian and anti-Israeli groups.
Trump repeatedly criticized the court and took several measures to sanction the body during his first mandate.
At the time, he imposed sanctions on the CPI officials who were investigating if the American forces had committed war crimes in Afghanistan. These sanctions were lifted by the administration of President Joe Biden.
Last month, the House of Representatives of the United States voted to sanction the ICC, but the bill was based in the Senate.
The ICC was founded in 2002 – following the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan genocide – to investigate alleged atrocities.
More than 120 countries have ratified the status of Rome – which was the ICC – while 34 others have signed and can ratify in the future.
Neither the United States nor Israel are part of the status of Rome.
The ICC is a court of last appeal and it is intended to intervene only when the national authorities cannot or will not continue.
During his mandate, President Biden also criticized the mandate of the ICC for Netanyahu, calling the “scandalous” move and saying that there was no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.
The signing by Trump of his last decree follows his announcement at a joint press conference with the Israeli Prime Minister on Tuesday of a plan for the United States “to take control” of Gaza, reinstate its Palestinian population and transform the territory into “riviera of the environment is”.
After the Arab leaders and the UN condemned the idea, the American president retired on his social networks platform of truth on Thursday.
“The Gaza Strip would be given to the United States by Israel at the end of the fighting,” wrote Trump.
He repeated that the plan would involve reinstalling the Palestinians and that no American soldier would be deployed.
His post did not specify whether the two million residents of the Palestinian territory would be invited to return, letting the authorities rush to explain.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that any trip would be temporary.
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said that Gazans would leave for an “temporary” period while the reconstruction had taken place, under the proposal.
Trump signed the Order while Netanyahu continued his visit to Washington, meeting legislators from the Republican and Democrats in Capitol Hill.
The Israeli Prime Minister also presented a gilded tele -reverter to Trump.
The gift was a reference to the deadly operation of Israel against Hezbollah in September of last year, using trapped communication devices.
Dozens of people were killed and thousands of people injured during attacks.
Israel said that it was designed to strike only the members of the group supported by Iran, but Lebanese officials said civilians were among the victims.
