The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court in protest of the arrest warrants it issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister in connection with Israel's war in The Gaza Strip.
The bill, which passed by a vote of 243 to 140, allows for the sanctioning of any alien who investigates, arrests, detains or prosecutes US citizens or citizens of an allied country, including Israel, who are not members of the court.
Forty-five Democrats joined 198 Republicans in supporting the bill. Not a single Republican voted against him.
"America is passing this law because a sham court is seeking to arrest the prime minister of our great ally, Israel," said Rep. Brian Mast, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The vote in the House of Representatives, among the first since the new Congress took office last week, highlighted the strong support of Republicans, allies of President-elect Donald Trump, for Israel's government now that they control both houses of Congress.
Trump is expected to be sworn in on January 20 for a second term as president.
Newly appointed Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune has vowed that the Senate will quickly consider the bill so that Trump can sign it into law as soon as he takes office.
The International Criminal Court is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression in member states or by their nationals.
The court has stated that its decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials was consistent with its approach in all cases, based on an assessment by the prosecutor that there was sufficient evidence to do so and based on the view that seeking arrest warrants immediately it can prevent ongoing crimes.
Republicans in Congress have denounced the ICC since it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense chief, Yoav Gallant, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 15-month conflict in Gaza.
The Republican-led House passed the bill to seek sanctions against the ICC in June, but it was never taken up in the Senate, which at the time was controlled by a Democratic majority. REL (A2 Televizion)
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