US bars entry to ICC chief over arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant
Sanctions freeze Karim Khan’s US assets, ban him from the country, a week after Trump signed order to punish court for having ‘abused its power’ in Gaza, Afghanistan probes
The US on Thursday slapped sanctions on International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan, following US President Donald Trump’s order last week to penalize the court over its decision in November to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said that any assets Khan has in the US are now frozen, and he is barred from entering the country.
Khan, who announced in May that he was seeking the warrants, is the first ICC official to be sanctioned under Trump’s order. The White House confirmed on Monday that Khan would be first on the list of ICC officials to be targeted by the order.
Trump signed the executive order last Thursday, while Netanyahu was visiting Washington. The order accused the court of having “abused its power” by issuing the arrest warrants for the Israeli leaders.
The order also accused the tribunal of having engaged in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America,” referring to ICC probes into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan.
Republican lawmakers had already sought to pass separate legislation sanctioning the ICC over the arrest warrants against Israel. Last month, a bill was passed by the US House of Representatives before being blocked by Democrats in the Senate.
In May, Khan announced he was seeking warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for allegedly targeting civilians and using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza. Israel has rejected the accusations, with some calling the arrest warrants antisemitic.
Khan also sought warrants against Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Muhammad Deif and Yahya Sinwar for crimes against humanity perpetrated during and after October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Israel killed Sinwar in October and Haniyeh and Deif in July. However, Hamas did not acknowledge Deif’s death until last month. As a result, the ICC dropped the charges against Haniyeh and Sinwar but issued an arrest warrant against Deif, as well as Netanyahu and Gallant, in November.
Agencies contributed to this report.
