US decides to impose sanctions on ICC to protect Netanyahu
Last Updated on January 12, 2025 6:01 am
The US House of Representatives voted on Thursday to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), in protest of the arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the Gaza operation.
The Times of Israel reported on Friday (January 10).
US lawmakers passed the “Illegal Court Response” Act by a vote of 243-140, which would call for sanctions against any ICC official or any organization that supports The Hague. The law would apply to anyone who seeks to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute individuals protected by the US and its allies.
The sanctions include visa cancellations or revocations and a ban on transactions with US assets.
The law states that the US and Israel are not signatories to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, and that the ICC has no jurisdiction over their activities.
Forty-five Democrats supported the bill, along with 198 Republicans. A handful of Republicans abstained. Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky abstained. He told the House, “The United States should not be involved in the conflicts of other countries.”
The House vote underscored the strong support of Donald Trump’s Republican supporters for the Israeli government, who now control both houses of Congress.
Trump will be sworn in for a second term as president on January 20.
Brian Mast, a Florida Republican and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told the House before the vote that “the United States is passing this legislation because a so-called court wants the arrest of the prime minister of our great ally Israel.”
The International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November last year, was established in 2002.
The purpose of this international court, located in The Hague, Netherlands, is to hold accountable those responsible for atrocities such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. However, it is separate from the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The ICC does not have its own police force. As a result, it relies on its member states to enforce arrest warrants.
A total of 124 countries signed an agreement called the ‘Rome Statute’ to establish this court. Of these, 33 are African, 19 are Asia-Pacific, 19 are Eastern European, 28 are Latin American and Caribbean, and 25 are Western European and other states. However, the United States, Russia, China and Israel have not formally ratified it.