The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The bill, named the “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,” passed with a vote of 243 to 140, signalling strong support for Israel. The bill was backed by 45 Democrats and 198 Republicans, with no Republican opposition. It will now move to the Senate, which is under Republican control.
“America is passing this law because a kangaroo court is seeking to arrest the prime minister of our great ally, Israel,” said Representative Brian Mast, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
The sanctions proposed in the bill target individuals or entities that assist the ICC in its efforts to investigate, arrest, or prosecute US citizens or citizens of allied nations that do not recognize the court’s authority. The sanctions would include freezing assets and denying visas to those who contribute to the ICC’s actions.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in May 2023, accusing them of war crimes related to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has led to significant casualties. This move has sparked calls from US legislators to take action against the ICC, with the bill now set to be considered by the Senate.
The bill has faced criticism from human rights organizations, who argue that it undermines an independent judicial institution and could hurt global justice efforts. However, the Senate is expected to act quickly, paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump to sign the bill into law once he takes office.
In 2020, during his first term as president, Trump imposed sanctions on senior ICC officials in response to the court’s investigations into US actions in Afghanistan and Israeli activities in Palestinian territories. President Biden later removed these sanctions.
The ICC, located in The Hague, Netherlands, is a permanent tribunal with the authority to prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes of aggression. Palestine has been a member of the ICC since 2015, and the court began investigating crimes committed by both Israeli and Hamas officials in 2019.
Although Israel is not a member of the ICC, the court has jurisdiction over crimes committed in the territory of any member state, regardless of the perpetrator’s nationality.
The US has occasionally supported the ICC, such as when the court sought an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, despite both Russia and Israel not being members of the ICC.