The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would sanction officials of the International Criminal Court or anyone who supports its effort to prosecute Israeli leaders for war crimes.
The Republican-led bill passed with the support of 45 Democrats. It comes after the ICC, based in the Hague, Netherlands, issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The United States had condemned the charges, and an earlier version of the bill passed the House last year but did not advance further. Thursday’s bill is expected to be brought to the Senate floor, where Republicans have a majority.
The bill freezes the property of, and denies U.S. visas to, anyone who helps the court in its effort “to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute” a citizen of the United States or any ally who is not a signatory to the court. Neither Israel nor the United States are signatories.
“America is passing this law because a kangaroo court is seeking to arrest the prime minister of our great ally, Israel, who is not only responding to an enemy which conducted a genocide, killing as many men, women and children as possible… but an enemy who still holds 100 hostages, scores of bodies of those that they murdered, including seven of my fellow Americans,” said Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a former civilian volunteer with the Israeli military.
Opponents said the bill was an unfair attack on the court. “Republicans want to sanction the I.C.C. simply because they don’t want the rules to apply to everyone,” said Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, according to The New York Times.
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