Donald Trump to impose sanctions on International Criminal Court for targeting Israel

The order will place financial and visa sanctions on individuals and their family members who assist in ICC investigations of US citizens or allies, the official told Reuters.

The move is seen as a protest against the international court's arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It also comes ahead of Netanyahu's visit to Washington DC to meet Trump.

The White House accused the ICC of "biased attacks" and a "disproportionate focus on Israel" during its investigation into the conflict with Hamas.

Republicans in the US Senate sought to pass legislation sanctioning the ICC last month but could not overcome Democratic opposition to the bill.

At his confirmation hearing in January, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the court's arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes was a test of power the ICC could try to wield against other nonmember nations such as the United States.

Like Israel, the US is not a party to the international treaty that established the ICC.