The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court to protest its issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over Israel's campaign in Gaza.
Congressional Republicans have been denouncing the ICC since it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu © Mena Today
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court to protest its issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over Israel's campaign in Gaza.
The vote was 243 to 140 in favor of the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act," which would sanction any foreigner who investigates, arrests, detains or prosecutes U.S. citizens or those of an allied country, including Israel, who are not members of the court.
Forty-five Democrats joined 198 Republicans in backing the bill. No Republican voted against it.
“America is passing this law because a kangaroo court is seeking to arrest the prime minister of our great ally, Israel,” Representative Brian Mast, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a House speech before the vote.
The House vote, one of the first since the new Congress was seated last week, underscored strong support among President-elect Donald Trump's fellow Republicans for Israel's government, now that they control both chambers in Congress.
Trump will be sworn in on Jan. 20 for a second term as president.
The Senate's newly appointed Republican majority leader, John Thune, has promised swift consideration of the act in his chamber so Trump can sign it into law shortly after taking office.
The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression in member states or by their nationals.
The court has said its decision to pursue warrants against the Israeli officials was in line with its approach in all cases, based on an assessment by the prosecutor that there was enough evidence to proceed, and the view that seeking arrest warrants immediately could prevent ongoing crimes.
Congressional Republicans have been denouncing the ICC since it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the 15-month-long Gaza conflict. Israel rejects the allegations.
The Republican-led House passed the act seeking to sanction the ICC in June, but the measure was never taken up in the Senate, which at the time was controlled by a Democratic majority.
By Patricia Zengerle
The past few days have unfolded like a geopolitical drama of historic proportions in Lebanon, where Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militia long considered untouchable, appears to be teetering on the edge of a seismic shift.
Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was for now unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
yrian Air, the state-owned airline of Syria, has announced the resumption of its direct flights to Dubai and Sharjah, marking a significant development in the gradual normalization of ties between Syria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.