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The House on Tuesday passed a bill to impose sanctions on International Criminal Court officials who target U.S. or Israeli citizens for investigation or prosecution.
The 247-155 vote represented bipartisan condemnation of the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announcing on May 20 an effort to secure arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes committed in Gaza.
But the vote also heightened partisan tensions in a deeply divided Congress, with Democrats accusing Republicans of squandering an opportunity for a bipartisan response to the ICC and
Republicans blaming the White House for walking away from an effort to cooperate on sanctions.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan. is also seeking arrest warrants for three top Hamas officials, but U.S. lawmakers are upset about his targeting of Israel, a democratic government, and equating Mr. Netanyahu’s actions with those of terrorists.
The arrest warrants still need to be considered by a three-judge panel, but the House bill calls for more immediate penalties designed to persuade the ICC to drop its investigation into Israel. It would impose economic and visa-related sanctions for any individual participating or aiding in the attempted prosecution of Israeli officials.
“The ICC has to be punished for this action. We cannot allow this to stand,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, told reporters ahead of the vote.
“We know the president doesn’t like to listen to us, but I hope that he’ll listen to at least the members of his own party who are denouncing the ICC and calling for action.”
The White House opposes sanctions as a response to the ICC, and a majority of congressional Democrats have opposed that approach as well.
