USA rules like the mafia, but 100x worse.
US sanctions more ICC judges, citing ruling on Israeli war crime probe
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/18/politics/trump-international-criminal-court-sanctions
The United States has issued a new round of sanctions against staff members at the International Criminal Court, citing a recent ruling blocking Israel’s effort to halt a Gaza war crimes investigation.
Thursday’s sanctions target two judges: Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia.
In a statement, US Secretary of State Rubio said the judges “have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent”.
He also faulted Lordkipanidze and Damdin for “voting with the majority” on December 15, when the ICC rejected Israel’s attempt to pause the war crimes probe.
“The ICC has continued to engage in politicized actions targeting Israel, which set a dangerous precedent for all nations,” Rubio said in the statement.
The sanctions are the latest in a series of economic restrictions the administration of US President Donald Trump has placed on ICC members and their associates.
Critics warn such actions could chill investigations across the world and have wide-ranging implications for prosecutors, judges and even witnesses.
In February, for instance, the Trump administration issued broad sanctions targeting ICC staff and anyone assisting the court’s investigations against the US and its allies.The Trump White House continued by issuing individual sanctions against judges and prosecutors it disagreed with.
In June, four judges were sanctioned, two of whom participated in probes regarding US personnel in Afghanistan. The other two were involved in the decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
Then, in August, the US expanded the sanctions, taking actions against two more judges and two ICC prosecutors.
Even entities outside the ICC have been hit with economic penalties as a result of their participation in its investigations. Last September, Rubio announced that three non-governmental organisations — Al Haq, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights — would also face sanctions for helping the ICC “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals”.
In a statement on Thursday, the court decried the latest US actions as a “flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution”. It nevertheless pledged to carry out its mandate, despite US pressure. “When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk,” it said.
Egypt says gas deal with Israel is ‘purely commercial’
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/17/middleeast/israel-gas-deal-egypt-latam-intl
Natural gas agreement worth approximately $35bn comes amid frayed relations over Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza
Egypt has said that Cairo’s natural gas deal with Israel is a “purely commercial” arrangement and that there are no “political dimensions” to the deal.
On Thursday, Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) said the agreement was struck by private energy companies under market rules and without government involvement.
“The deal is a purely commercial transaction concluded on the basis of strictly economic and investment considerations, and entails no political dimensions or understandings of any kind,” SIS chief Diaa Rashwan said in a statement.
“The agreement serves a clear strategic interest for Egypt, namely strengthening its position as the sole regional hub for gas trading in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Rashwan added.
Egypt’s announcement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the approval of the gas agreement with Egypt on Wednesday evening and called it “the largest gas deal in Israel’s history”.
“Today, I approved the largest gas deal in Israel’s history. The deal is worth 112 billion shekels [$34.7bn]. Of this total, 58 billion shekels [$18bn] will go to the state coffers,” Netanyahu said during a televised address in Israel, alongside energy minister Eli Cohen.
“The agreement is with the American company Chevron, with Israeli partners who will supply gas to Egypt,” Netanyahu added.
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According to CNN, Netanyahu’s announcement of the gas deal on Wednesday comes amid pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has been trying to organise a meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Netanyahu.
