House Republicans advance sanctions on ICC over Gaza arrest warrants
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The full House is expected to pass the bill later this week and send it to the Senate, where Democratic leaders are likely to ignore it.
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Exterior view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, December 6, 2022 (AP)
House Republicans advanced legislation on Monday to penalize the International Criminal Court (ICC) after its top prosecutor Karim Khan said last month that he was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Security Minister Yoav Gallant, on suspicions of war crimes in Gaza, The Hill news website reported.
The House Rules Committee voted 9-3 along party lines to move forward with legislation imposing sanctions on ICC officials. The full House is expected to pass the bill later this week and send it to the Senate, where Democratic leaders are likely to ignore it.
According to The Hill, the effort was initially intended to be bipartisan, as leaders from both parties aimed to show Washington's support for the Israeli occupation.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) had been negotiating with Democratic counterparts and the White House on how to sanction the court, emphasizing the need for legislation that could become law to deter the ICC while it considers the warrants.
However, the White House disrupted these plans last week when Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced that while the Biden administration supports some response to the ICC’s plans, it does not favor sanctioning the court.
"We fundamentally reject the ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders," Jean-Pierre stressed.
"Sanctions on the ICC, however, we do not believe is an effective or an appropriate path forward," she added.
The administration reiterated this stance in a policy statement on Monday, expressing "strong" opposition to the legislation but stopping short of threatening a veto if it reaches Biden’s desk.
The statement said the Biden administration is "deeply concerned" about what it called "the ICC Prosecutor’s heedless rush to apply for arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials" but pointed out that "there are more effective ways to defend Israel, preserve U.S. positions on the ICC, and promote international justice and accountability, and the Administration stands ready to work with the Congress on those options."
Netanyahu said in an interview broadcast Sunday he is "surprised and disappointed" that Biden won't pursue sanctions against the ICC, considering that the US President previously called the application for arrest warrants "outrageous".
It remains unclear what alternative punitive measures the White House might propose, given that the US has never ratified the ICC’s charter, does not recognize its jurisdiction over American citizens, and does not fund its operations.
But House Republican leaders are not waiting for the administration to propose alternatives and are pushing forward with a partisan sanctions bill introduced last month by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).
The bill, which enjoys over 60 Republican co-sponsors, would impose sanctions on ICC officials involved in efforts "to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies." These sanctions include blocking property transactions in the US, deeming individuals inadmissible to the country, and revoking their visas.
The legislation is expected to pass the House with support from most Republicans and some staunch pro-"Israel" Democrats. However, Senate Democrats are expected to vote against the measure following Biden’s opposition to the sanctions.
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