US House Approves Bill to Punish ICC for Israel War crimes Investigation
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bipartisan bill to impose sanctions on International Criminal Court officials who target American or Israeli citizens for investigation or prosecution, the Washington Times reports.
The bipartisan measure passed comfortably 247-155, although the deep congressional divide over the correct response to the ICC’s actions was manifest: just 42 out of 213 Democratic lawmakers voted in favor of it.
The bill was passed in response to the May 20 announcement by ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan that he had applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza, the Times said.
Khan is also seeking warrants for three senior Hamas leaders but US lawmakers are outraged that the ICC is apparently equating democratically elected Israeli government officials with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization committed to destroying the Jewish state.
A three-judge panel has yet to consider Khan’s applications for arrest warrants, but the House bill applies pressure on ICC officials to cease any attempts at prosecuting Israeli government leaders on pain of individual economic and visa-related sanctions, the Times reports.
“The ICC has to be punished for this action. We cannot allow this to stand,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said in a statement to the press before 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.”
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