US imposes sanctions on two more judges and two deputy prosecutors at ICC

The United States has imposed sanctions on four International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, including two judges and two deputy prosecutors. This action was taken because the US considers any attempt to investigate or prosecute American or Israeli officials a threat to its national security and foreign policy. The sanctioned deputy prosecutors had reportedly prepared arrest warrants for Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich on apartheid charges. One of the sanctioned judges authorized the issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while the other authorized an investigation into US personnel in Afghanistan. The ICC condemned the sanctions, calling them a flagrant attack on the independence of a judicial institution.