07 Feb. 2025 (Anadolu)

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC) for issuing an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza.

In his order, Trump accused the international court of engaging in "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel."

He argued that the court's actions against Israel and the US set a dangerous precedent, putting American personnel at risk of harassment, abuse and arrest.

This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States Government and our allies, including Israel," he said.

According to the order, the US will be able to impose significant penalties on ICC officials, including asset freezes and entry bans for them and their families, citing national interests.

In January, following Trump's inauguration, the House of Representatives approved a bill to sanction the ICC, but the Senate did not advance the measure on Jan. 28.

Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant face arrest warrants issued by The Hague-based court in November last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

Trump added that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the US or Israel, as neither country is party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC.

"Neither country has ever recognized the ICC's jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war," he wrote

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested that Palestinians should establish their state in Saudi Arabia rather than in their own homeland dismissing any notion of Palestinian sovereignty.

"The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there,” Netanyahu said on Thursday during an interview with Israeli Channel 14 disregarding the long-standing Palestinian demands for self-determination.

When asked whether a Palestinian state was necessary for normalization with Saudi Arabia, he rejected the idea outright framing it as a “security threat to Israel.”

“Especially not a Palestinian state. After Oct. 7? Do you know what that is? There was a Palestinian state, it was called Gaza. Gaza, led by Hamas, was a Palestinian state and look what we got," he claimed, ruling out the creation of a Palestinian state yet again.

Netanyahu also spoke about potential normalization with Saudi Arabia predicting an imminent agreement.

"I think peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia is not only feasible, I think it's going to happen," he said.

However, the Saudi Foreign Ministry had dismissed Netanyahu’s narrative reiterating that normalization with Israel was off the table unless a Palestinian state was established -- a stance Netanyahu continues to disregard.

The interview took place while Netanyahu was in Washington, DC, where he appeared alongside US President Donald Trump at a joint press conference.

During the event, Trump said the US would “take over” Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere under an extraordinary redevelopment plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

He doubled down on his proposal Thursday and said no US soldiers would be needed.

The proposal has been widely condemned by world leaders.