The United States on Wednesday escalated its confrontation with the International Criminal Court (ICC), imposing sanctions on judges, including one from France, over the tribunal’s prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures, which also targeted a Canadian judge in a separate case. The move marks Washington’s latest effort to undermine the ICC, which is backed by nearly all other Western democracies as a court of last resort for grave international crimes.
“The Court is a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel,” Rubio declared, criticizing the ICC for investigating US and Israeli citizens “without the consent of either nation.”
Among those sanctioned was Judge Nicolas Guillou of France, who presides over the ICC case that issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. France, whose president Emmanuel Macron had just visited Washington days earlier, expressed “dismay” at the decision, calling it a violation of the principle of judicial independence.
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The ICC itself condemned the sanctions as a “flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.”
Prosecutors at The Hague accuse Netanyahu of war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza. The charges allege deliberate targeting of civilians and the use of starvation as a weapon of war.
Netanyahu, however, hailed Rubio’s move as a “decisive act against a smear campaign of lies” aimed at Israel and its army. Israel launched its Gaza offensive in response to Hamas’s unprecedented October attack, which left hundreds of Israeli civilians dead.
The ICC has also sought the arrest of former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who has since been confirmed killed by Israel.
Judge Guillou is a seasoned jurist who previously handled cases related to Kosovo and Lebanon, and earlier worked in the United States with the Justice Department under President Barack Obama.
Under the sanctions, Guillou and the others will be barred from entering the United States and face asset freezes—penalties typically reserved for adversaries, not citizens of allied nations.
