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THE HAGUE, Netherlands —\u00a0The president of the\u00a0International Criminal Court<\/a>\u00a0said during the institution’s annual meeting Monday that it will not bow to pressure from the United States and Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nine staff members, including six judges and the court’s chief prosecutor<\/a>, have been sanctioned by U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> for pursuing investigations into U.S. and Israeli officials, while Moscow has issued warrants for staff in response to an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin<\/a> over the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe never accept any kind of pressure,\u201d Judge Tomoko Akane told delegations from the court\u2019s 125 member states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sanctions have taken their toll<\/a> on the court\u2019s work across a broad array of investigations at a time when the institution is juggling ever more demands on its resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her address last year<\/a>, Akane warned that the court was being threatened by the incoming Trump administration. Three weeks after he took office for the second time, Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on Prosecutor Karim Khan over investigations of Israel, a close U.S. ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The court has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes over Israel’s military offensive in Gaza<\/a> after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The court’s weeklong meeting opened Monday. Business on the agenda includes approving its budget against a backdrop of mounting pressure and unfavorable headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ICC was established in 2002 as the world\u2019s permanent court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the most heinous atrocities \u2014 war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression. The U.S., Israel, Russia and China are among the nations that are not members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The court only takes action when nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute those crimes on their territory. The ICC has no police force and relies on member states to execute arrest warrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n