House passes bill to sanction ICC for seeking Netanyahu arrest warrant
June 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives have passed a GOP-backed resolution to sanction the International Criminal Court for taking actions against any American or ally without formal U.S. consent.
The motion, House Resolution 8282 -- also know as the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act -- passed Tuesday in a 247-155 vote, with 42 Democrats crossing the aisle in approval of the measure.
It was introduce May 7 by Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Brian Mast, R-Fla., to punish the ICC amid reports at the time that said the court was planning to seek arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other high-ranking Israeli officials over their war against Hamas in Gaza.
About two weeks later, the court applied for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges of using starvation as warfare. The court simultaneously sought warrants for three of Hamas' top leaders for the militias' bloody and gruesome surprise attack on Oct. 7 that ignited the now protracted conflict.
The bill passed Tuesday calls for sanctions and visa bans be imposed on those who have aided the ICC in investigating, arresting, detaining or prosecuting any so-called protected persons of the United States or its allies.
"This sends a strong message to the ICC that we will not tolerate their outrageous attacks on Israel," Roy said in a statement following the vote.
Republicans have framed the bill as a defense of U.S. sovereignty, stating if the court can seek the arrest of the Israeli prime minister, there is notiong stopping it from going after Americans and other allies.
The Biden administration has said it is "deeply concerned" about the ICC's move to arrest Netanyahu, but that it "strongly opposes H.R. 8282" and the imposition of sanctions on the court and those who assist it.
"There are more effective ways to defend Israel, preserve U.S. positions on the ICC and promote international justice and accountability, and the administration stands ready to work with the Congress on those options," it said in a statement earlier this month.
Despite the Biden administration's opposition, there were indications that members of President Joe Biden's Democratic party would support the bill when it hit the floor.
On May 30, 19 pro-Israel Democrats in the House wrote Secretary of State Antony Blinken to urge the administration to consult with Congress on imposing sanctions against the ICC's Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan and other officials over the seeking of arrest warrants.
They group of Democrats had called the arrest warrants "erroneous" and the charges against the Israeli leaders as "baseless."
"They reflect the ICC's well-documented historical bias against Israel," they said.
