The US House aims to sanction the ICC following its warrant for Israel’s Netanyahu

The US House of Representatives voted, on Tuesday, in favor of passing a bill imposing sanctions on officials of the International Criminal Court. 

The draft law submitted by Republican Party representatives came in response to the court seeking to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The House approved the bill by a vote of 247 to 155, with 42 Democrats joining Republicans.

The bill stipulates the imposition of sanctions on individuals “participating in any efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any person protected by the United States and its allies,” and the sanctions include prohibiting American real estate transactions and prohibiting and canceling visas.

While some representatives called for sending a strong message of support to Israel and for the International Criminal Court not to prosecute American officials and soldiers in the future, others from both parties opposed ratifying the draft law on the grounds that it harms some of the United States’ allies who cooperate with the court, such as Japan and France.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court,  Karim Khan, announced about two weeks ago that he had submitted requests to the court to issue arrest warrants on charges of committing war crimes and genocide in connection with the war in Gaza and the attack of last October 7.

The ICC’s targeting of Netanyahu sparked widespread violent reactions from Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and US President Joe Biden also strongly condemned the ICC’s move, saying that “there is no parity between Israel and Hamas,” but the US administration said it does not support the efforts led by him. Republican Party to impose sanctions on the court.

House Speaker Mike Johnson condemned the ICC for its move to obtain arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, saying last month that “Congress will take action to punish the ICC and ensure that its leadership faces consequences if they continue to move forward.”

Democrats in Congress and Biden are still facing intense pressure from various constituencies regarding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, said in an interview with the CNN news channel Last month, the court was seeking to issue arrest warrants for Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, as well as the subsequent Israeli war in Gaza..

This move against Israeli politicians is the first time that the International Criminal Court has targeted the leader of a country allied with the United States, and a panel of ICC judges will consider Khan’s request to issue arrest warrants.

The International Criminal Court, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, was established in 2002 and is charged with trying individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The ICC has no enforcement mechanism of its own and has relied on state support for arrests. It is noteworthy that the decision to request arrest warrants does not immediately mean that the individual is guilty, but it is the first stage in a process that can lead to a long trial