US House passes bill to sanction ICC over Netanyahu arrest warrant pledge

The bill was ratified on Tuesday by 247 votes in favor and 155 against, with 42 Democrats joining Republicans in backing the measure aimed at punishing the top court through sanctions following its chief prosecutor’s call for probe into war crimes by Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.

After passing the House, the legislation is expected to go to the Senate where it is unlikely to receive support from the Democratically-controlled chamber and become law.

Last month, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan sought an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Israel's minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the occupying regime in Gaza.

Khan said he had reasonable grounds after more than seven months of war in Gaza to believe that the Israeli prime minister and his military chief “bear criminal responsibility” for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the besieged Palestinian territory, including civilian starvation and targeted attacks against civilians.

The court's decision faced bipartisan condemnation within the US, with President Joe Biden denouncing the ICC's warrants against the occupying entity’s leaders.

The Hague-based court has been investigating Israel's actions in the occupied territories for the past three years and more recently the brutal war in the Gaza Strip as well.

Israel’s bloody war machine has killed 36,550 Palestinians since October 7, 2023. The vast majority of the fatalities are women and children.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza also prompted South Africa to file a case against Tel Aviv in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023, which led to the UN court ordering the regime to stop its genocidal actions in the besieged territory and allow humanitarian aid to reach the war-ravaged area.