US weighs sweeping sanctions on International Criminal Court over Israel probe

Washington: The United States is considering imposing sanctions as soon as this week against the entire International Criminal Court, putting the court's day-to-day operations in jeopardy in retaliation for investigations of suspected Israeli war crimes.

Washington has already imposed targeted sanctions on several prosecutors and judges at the court, but naming the court itself in the sanctions list would be a major escalation.

Six sources with knowledge of the matter, all speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic issue that has not been publicly announced, said a decision on such "entity sanctions" was expected soon.

A source said court officials had already held emergency internal meetings to discuss the impact of potential blanket sanctions. Two other sources said meetings had also been held of court member state diplomats.

One U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, confirmed that entity-wide sanctions were being weighed but did not elaborate on the timing of the possible move.

A State Department spokesperson accused the court of asserting what it said was its "purported jurisdiction" over U.S. and Israeli personnel and said that Washington was going to take further steps although the spokesperson did not say exactly what.

"It (the ICC) has the opportunity to change course by making critical and appropriate structural changes. The U.S. 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.

Salaries paid in advance

Sanctions applied to the court as an entity could affect its basic day-to-day operations, from its ability to pay its staff, to its access to bank accounts and routine office software on its computers.

To mitigate the potential damage, ICC staff received salaries this month in advance for the rest of 2025, three sources said, though this is not the first time the court has paid wages in advance as a precaution in case of sanctions.

The court is also seeking alternative suppliers for banking services and software, three sources said. The ICC, based in The Hague, has indicted Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as figures from the Hamas militant group, for alleged crimes committed during the Gaza war. Washington has previously targeted court officials with sanctions for their roles in those cases and in a separate investigation into suspected crimes in Afghanistan, which initially had looked at actions by U.S. troops.

ICC states push back at UN

Three diplomatic sources said some of the ICC's 125 member countries would try to push back against additional U.S. sanctions during a U.N. General Assembly in New York this week.

But all indications are that Washington will scale up its attack on the ICC, four diplomatic sources in The Hague and New York said.

"The road of individual sanctions has been exhausted. It is now more about when, rather than if, they will take the next step," a senior diplomat said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called the court "a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare" against the United States and its ally Israel.

The court was founded in 2002 under a treaty giving it jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes that were either committed by a citizen of a member state or had taken place on a member's territory.

Israel and the United States are not members. The court recognizes 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. In February, the White House imposed sanctions on the court's lead prosecutor, Karim Khan, who had requested the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant. Khan is on leave amid an ongoing investigation into sexual misconduct allegations which he denies.