Sanctioning Justice: U.S. acts against Hague judges over Gaza investigations

The U.S. imposed sanctions on four ICC judges, including two who played a role in issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over war crimes committed in Gaza.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the details of this measure, stating that the sanctions ban the named judges from entering the U.S. and freeze any assets under U.S. jurisdiction.

According to reports, these are the types of sanctions the U.S. typically imposes on its adversaries—not legal professionals.

Rubio claimed: “We will defend our sovereignty, Israel, and any other U.S. ally from the illegitimate actions of the International Criminal Court.”

These remarks reflect Washington’s intensified efforts to shield the leaders of the Zionist regime from accountability for crimes committed during the Gaza war.

Netanyahu praised the decision and thanked former U.S. President Donald Trump and Rubio for what he described as standing up to defend the regime’s rights.

This comes amid growing international consensus that the actions of the Zionist regime in Gaza constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court condemned the sanctions, describing them as a blatant attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial body. The ICC, based in The Hague, operates under a mandate ratified by 125 member states, including many of America's key allies.

Two of the judges involved in the arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November were Beti Hohler from Slovenia and Reine Alapini-Gansou from Benin. The warrant was issued based on "reasonable grounds" to hold Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant responsible for using starvation as a method of warfare during the Gaza conflict, which began after Hamas’s large-scale attack on October 7, 2023.

The other two judges—Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza from Peru and Solomy Balungi Bossa from Uganda—were involved in a separate judicial proceeding that led to authorization of investigations into possible war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Human rights organizations have condemned these sanctions, particularly in light of escalating Israeli crimes in Gaza with direct U.S. support, calling them an attempt to deter the ICC from pursuing accountability amid the grave atrocities committed by the Zionist regime.

The U.S. and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute—the founding treaty of the ICC—but many of the U.S.'s Western allies, including Japan, South Korea, most Latin American countries, and a significant portion of African nations, are members and are theoretically obligated to arrest individuals pursued by the Court if they enter their territory.