Author: Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters): The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court in protest against arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over Israel’s Gaza campaign.
voted 243 to 140 for the “Anti-Illegal Courts Act,” which might impose sanctions on any foreign national investigating, arresting, detaining or prosecuting residents of the U.S. or an allied country, including Israel, who will not be members of the court.
Forty-five Democrats joined the 198 Republicans who supported the bill. No Republicans voted against it.
“America is passing this bill because a kangaroo court is seeking to arrest the prime minister of our great ally, Israel,” Brian Mast, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a House speech before the vote.
The vote within the House of Representatives, one of the primary because the latest Congress was established last week, underlined President-elect Donald Trump’s Republicans’ strong support for the Israeli government now that they control each houses of Congress.
The ICC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The first Trump administration imposed sanctions on the ICC in 2020 in response to war crimes investigations in Afghanistan, including allegations of torture by U.S. residents.
Those sanctions were lifted by President Joe Biden’s administration, although Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last May that he was willing to work with Congress to potentially impose latest sanctions on the ICC following the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.
Five years ago, then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and other staff had their bank cards and bank accounts frozen, making it difficult to travel inside the US.
The latest sanctions adopted by the US House of Representatives also made it possible to goal individuals who assist within the work of the court.
SANCTIONS MAY ‘THREATEN’ ICC, SAYS ITS PRESIDENT
In December, Chief Justice Tomoko Akane told the ICC’s 125 member countries that “these measures will rapidly undermine the Court’s activities in all situations and cases and threaten its existence.”
On January 20, Trump can be sworn in for a second term as president.
Newly appointed Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune has promised to quickly consider the sanctions bill in his chamber in order that Trump can sign it into law soon after taking office.
The ICC is a everlasting court that may prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes of aggression in member states or committed by their nationals.
The court said its decision to execute arrest warrants against Israeli officials was consistent with its approach in all cases, based on the prosecutor’s assessment that there was sufficient evidence to proceed and the view that immediately looking for arrest warrants could prevent ongoing crimes .
Republicans in Congress have condemned the ICC because it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity through the 15-month conflict in Gaza. Israel denies the accusations.
The Republican-led House passed laws in June to punish the ICC, however the measure was never adopted within the Senate, then controlled by a Democratic majority.
