A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from sanctioning two American human rights organisations for collaborating with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Judge Jesse M. Furman’s ruling on Tuesday stems from a lawsuit filed in July by Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and the Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG). The groups argued that President Trump’s 2025 executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC violated their First Amendment rights by restricting Americans from advocating for justice in Palestine at the international court.
Furman cited a 2025 precedent where a similar challenge succeeded, ruling that the order ‘violated those plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights’ by targeting speech-based activities. However, he stopped short of declaring the executive order facially unconstitutional, instead granting a temporary injunction against its enforcement.
The Trump administration has long opposed the ICC, which was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. In October 2026, the US imposed broader sanctions on the court itself—hours after one of its former judges won the Nobel Peace Prize—sparking diplomatic tensions with European allies. The move followed ICC arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a closed investigation into US military actions in Afghanistan.
DAWN’s executive director, Omar Shakir, called the ruling a ‘victory’ that ‘puts the brakes’ on efforts to ‘shield from justice’ Israeli officials and their US backers. Anna Marie Stenberg of TAAG described it as an affirmation of First Amendment protections, though she warned the fight was ‘far from over.’
The State Department has framed the ICC as an ‘intolerable threat’ to US sovereignty, but legal experts suggest the judge’s decision could complicate Washington’s broader campaign to undermine the court’s authority.
