https://www.nationalreview.com/news/house-passes-bill-to-sanction-icc-over-arrest-warrants-for-netanyahu-gallant/
The House passed a bipartisan bill to sanction the International Criminal Court on Thursday after the body issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant in November.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 243–140, with 45 Democrats in support. Many lawmakers were absent for the vote, which coincided with former president Jimmy Carter’s state funeral in Washington, D.C.
Thursday’s vote marks the second time that the House has passed the measure, which went nowhere last year in the Democrat-dominated Senate. Republican lawmakers revived the bill now that they control both chambers of Congress.
The ICC accused Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, of war crimes during Israel’s ongoing conflict in Gaza, which was sparked by the Palestinian terrorist group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The Jewish state claimed responsibility for the death of Deif, one of the reported masterminds behind the terror attack.
The warrants prevent Netanyahu and Gallant from traveling to 125 countries that are party to the ICC. The pair would be arrested if they were to step foot in any of those jurisdictions.
Congressional Republicans and moderate Democrats, who ally themselves with Israel, sharply criticized the ICC for seeking the arrests of the Israeli leaders. As such, they backed legislation to punish the court.
“A kangaroo court is seeking to arrest the prime minister of our great ally, Israel, which is not only responding to an enemy which conducted a genocide, but an enemy who still holds 100 hostages,” Representative Brian Mast (R., Fla.), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on the House floor ahead of the vote.