The House of Representatives approves a bill to impose sanctions on International Criminal Court officials due to Israeli prosecutions

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation that would impose sanctions on officials at the International Criminal Court, in a direct attack on the court in response to its move to charge senior Israeli leaders with war crimes over their offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

The bill requires the president to freeze real estate assets and deny entry visas to any foreigner who has contributed materially or financially to the court’s efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected person.” Protected persons are defined as all current and former military and government officials of the United States and its allies who have not consented to the court’s jurisdiction, such as Israel.

The measure is one of many pushed by House Republicans last year, but it died in the Democratic-led Senate and is now certain to be enacted now that Republicans control both chambers of Congress and Trump takes office. January 20.

Last year, A A similar measure has received some bipartisan support In the House of Representatives, but it still faces resistance among many Democrats, who joined Republicans in criticizing the International Criminal Court’s move to prosecute Israeli leaders, but described the sanctions as too broad and ineffective. With Republicans now in charge, the obstacles to passing the bill appear to have disappeared.

“The ICC’s rogue actions only empower terrorists who seek to wipe Israel off the map, and they cannot be allowed to stand unchecked,” Sen. John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and majority leader, said in his speech this week. “In November, I promised that if Leader Schumer did not bring the ICC sanctions bill to the Council, Republicans would do so. We will soon keep that promise and vote to support our ally Israel.”

The 243-140 vote in the House of Representatives, in which 45 Democrats joined all Republicans in supporting the bill, reflects significant bipartisan anger among lawmakers over the court’s decision to prosecute Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity alongside Hamas leaders. , whose deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparked a bloody reaction in the Gaza Strip.

Representative Brian Mast, Republican of Florida and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during his speech: “America is passing this law because a moot court seeks to arrest the prime minister of our great ally.” He accused the court of anti-Semitism, trying to prevent the Israeli army from succeeding and thwarting efforts to release Israeli and American hostages held by Hamas.

“This bill sends a very important message around the world,” Mr. Mast added. “Do not stand in the way of America or our allies who are trying to bring our people home. You will not be given any room, and again, you will certainly not be welcomed on American soil.

The United States has sent arms shipments worth billions of dollars to Israel since the beginning of the armed conflict, despite international condemnation of its attack on Gaza and accusations by human rights groups that its actions there amount to genocide. Efforts to broker a ceasefire have eluded the Biden administration. Trump said this week that if Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages On the occasion of his inauguration“All hell will break loose in the Middle East.”

Republicans in Congress have been trying to crack down on the court since May, when Attorney General Karim Khan decided, He declared that he was seeking Arrest orders for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its defense minister at the time, Yoav Galant, along with Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza; Ismail Haniyeh, its president residing in Qatar; And Mohammed Deif, its supreme military commander. The House of Representatives first passed a bill to impose sanctions on court officials and their associates After only two weeks.

In november, The court issued orders Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Gallant and Mr. Deif were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. By that moment, it was confirmed that Mr. Sinwar and Mr. Haniyeh had been killed by Israeli forces. Israel has it too He claimed to have killed Mr. Deif.

Supporters of the bill say the sanctions are a necessary rebuke to the court’s move to equate Israel’s leaders with the top officers of a terrorist group like Hamas. They also insisted that the action represents a significant rejection of what they see as overreach by the court, because Israel, like the United States, has not consented to its jurisdiction.

Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican and author of the bill, said the bill is “critically important not only to our friendship with our ally Israel but to our national security and the protection of our men and women in uniform.” floor. He said that if the United States fails to impose sanctions on the court, American service members could be targeted for their conduct in foreign conflicts.

Mr. Roy added that the ICC “should have no authority over our people, and no authority over the Prime Minister of Israel.”

Most Democrats objected to the legislation, arguing that it was trying to punish too broad a range of people for the decision.

“Republicans want to impose sanctions on the ICC because they simply don’t want the rules to apply to everyone,” said Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts. There is no international right to revenge, and what we see in Gaza is revenge.”

The ICC claims jurisdiction over alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed by nationals of countries that have recognized the court or occurring in countries that have recognized the court. The Palestinian Territories did so in 2015, a few years after the United Nations recognized Palestine as an observer state.

The United States and Israel were among only seven countries that voted against the establishment of the criminal court in 1998. Although the two countries later signed its founding document, the Rome Statute, neither country has ratified it.