WASHINGTON — The United States has imposed sweeping sanctions on four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, including two involved in approving an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reported by Daily Hurriyet News. The move marks a dramatic escalation in Washington’s campaign to delegitimize the Hague-based tribunal.
The four targeted judges—all women—will be barred from entering the United States, and any assets or financial interests they hold within U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen. Among them are Beti Hohler of Slovenia and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin, who played a role in authorizing the ICC’s November 2024 warrant for Netanyahu. The remaining two—Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru and Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda—were involved in proceedings that opened a war crimes investigation into U.S. actions during the war in Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the sanctions as a matter of national sovereignty and alliance solidarity. “The United States will take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our sovereignty, that of Israel, and our allies from illegitimate actions by the ICC,” Rubio declared.
The ICC swiftly condemned the sanctions, calling them a “clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution.”
Netanyahu welcomed the U.S. move, thanking former President Donald Trump and Rubio for “standing up for the right of Israel.”
But the international response was swift and critical. U.N. Human Rights chief Volker Türk denounced the sanctions as a blow to the rule of law and called for their immediate reversal. European Council President Antonio Costa reaffirmed the EU’s unwavering support for the ICC, saying, “The rule of law must prevail over the rule of power.”
Though neither the U.S. nor Israel recognizes the ICC, many of their closest allies do—and are legally bound to enforce its rulings.
