The United States has imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC), ramping up pressure on the Hague-based court of last resort. The four judges, all women, will be barred from entry to the United States, and any property or other interests will be blocked. Two of the judges, Beti Hohler of Slovenia and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin, took part in proceedings that led to an arrest warrant issued in November for Netanyahu. The two other judges, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru and Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, were part of the court proceedings that led to the authorisation of an investigation into allegations that US forces committed war crimes during the war in Afghanistan.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement, said, these four individuals have actively engaged in the ICC’s illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or its close ally, Israel. The ICC slammed the move, saying it was an attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution. The measures also follow a January vote at the U.S. House of Representatives to punish the ICC in protest over its Netanyahu arrest warrant.