On Thursday, the Republican-led House again passed legislation threatening to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the organization issued arrest warrants against Israeli leaders last year.
Forty-five Democrats joined 198 Republicans in voting for the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act. The bill once more heads to the Senate; with the GOP in control, the legislation may actually succeed.
The legislation would “impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies.”
Penalties listed in the bill would have the president implement restrictions on transactions of property and interests within the U.S., as well as visas, admission, or parole for anyone linked to offending ICC actions.
Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Brian Mast (R-FL) first unveiled the sanctions bill last May, citing reports indicating the ICC was prepared to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials in response to the war in the Gaza Strip.
The ICC later did issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant — as well as Hamas terror group officials — a move that got bipartisan criticism in the U.S.
Roy and Mast, who is now chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, announced earlier this week that the House rules package for the nascent 119th Congress set the stage for their legislation to get another vote.
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“The House will not tolerate rogue actors who circumvent international law to attack Israel and threaten America. We won’t do it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said during a press briefing on Capitol Hill this week.
Johnson also noted he expects the Senate, now led by Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), to vote on the bill. The Democrat-led Senate in the last Congress did not vote on the legislation as President Joe Biden opposed it.
Roy said he has “full confidence” President-elect Donald Trump “will stand for Israel with the strength and moral clarity that Biden has sorely lacked,” adding the bill ensures the ICC won’t get a “free pass” to attack U.S. allies.
The House vote on Thursday was the second in this Congress in which a bipartisan group of lawmakers passed a bill. On Tuesday, 48 Democrats and 216 Republicans sent the “Laken Riley Act” to the Senate.
