LONDON

Amnesty International on Friday criticized US President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying it "betrays" international justice system.

In a statement, Agnes Callamard, secretary general of the rights group based in the UK, said the sanctions suggest Trump endorses the Israeli government’s crimes and is embracing impunity.

"This reckless action sends the message that Israel is above the law and the universal principles of international justice," she said.

Stressing that global rules that are applicable to everyone and aim to deliver justice for all, Callamard underlined that the sanctions "constitute another betrayal of our common humanity."

"Today’s executive order is vindictive. It is aggressive. It is a brutal step that seeks to undermine and destroy what the international community has painstakingly constructed over decades, if not centuries."

Trump on Thursday signed an executive order sanctioning the ICC and accused it of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 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 has killed more than 47,000 people in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 and rendered it uninhabitable.