The United States has imposed sanctions on Georgian judge Gocha Lortkipanidze of the International Criminal Court, citing the “illegitimate targeting of Israel.”
The United States also sanctioned judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin from Mongolia.
“These individuals directly engaged in the ICC’s efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals without Israel’s consent, including by voting on December 15 against Israel’s appeal. The ICC continues to pursue politicized actions targeting Israel, setting a dangerous precedent for all states. We will not tolerate the ICC’s abuse of power that infringes on the sovereignty of the United States and Israel and unlawfully subjects US and Israeli citizens to ICC jurisdiction,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
The United States and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute and do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC.
“We will continue to respond with significant and tangible measures to the ICC’s so-called lawfare and overreach,” Rubio said.
On December 15, 2025, the International Criminal Court rejected Israel’s appeal, which argued that developments following October 7, 2023 constituted “new circumstances” requiring the prosecutor to notify Israel again of the opening of an investigation and to invalidate the arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prior to that, the court had investigated the actions of Israel and Hamas for three years.
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, who, according to Israel, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July 2024.
Israel, like its key ally the United States, is not a member of the International Criminal Court. However, the court claims jurisdiction over the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank after Palestinian leaders formally accepted the court’s principles in 2015.