The Republican-led US House of Representatives voted on legislation imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court over its prosecutor’s decision to pursue arrest warrants for Israeli officials involved in the Gaza war.
The result was 247-155, with 42 Democrats joining Republicans in supporting the measure. There were no Republican ‘nay’ votes, but two people voted ‘present’.
The bill is unlikely to pass, but it demonstrates Congress’s continued support for Israel in the face of worldwide criticism over the Middle Eastern country’s war in the Gaza Strip.
Last month, the White House criticized the International Criminal Court’s decision to seek the warrants.
The bill is unlikely to be voted on in the Senate, which is tightly controlled by Biden’s Democratic colleagues.
The measure would impose sanctions on those implicated in ICC prosecutions of Americans or citizens of non-ICC member states, including Israel.
It would also prohibit such ICC officials from entering the United States, remove any U.S. visas, and bar them from engaging in U.S. property transactions.
Following more than seven months of the war in Gaza, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan stated last month that he has reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s defence chief, and three Hamas leaders bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Netanyahu called the ICC prosecutor’s decision ludicrous and claimed that it was intended to target all of Israel.
Israel launched an air and infantry war in Gaza last October, threatening to destroy Hamas after militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing over 1,200 people and holding more than 250 hostages. There are now about 120 hostages in Gaza.
According to health officials, the Israeli military operation has killed over 36,000 people in densely crowded Gaza, with thousands more bodies buried beneath debris.
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