On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill imposing sanctions on officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to the court’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The legislation strongly condemns the ICC’s arrest warrants against Israeli officials and proposes sanctions against the court for any attempts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute individuals protected by the United States and its allies. The sanctions include a ban on operations involving American property, as well as the blocking and revocation of visas.
Last year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a senior Hamas official, accusing them of war crimes during and after the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel led by Hamas.
The ICC’s prosecution of Netanyahu sparked negative reactions from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. The bill is now expected to move to the Senate, which is controlled by the Republican Party.
Bipartisan support for U.S. military aid to Israel remains strong in Congress, but attention to U.S. support for Israel’s war against Hamas has intensified as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens. This issue has caused a divide within the Democratic Party, with progressives sharply criticizing the Israeli government.
