A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives has rejected President Joe Biden’s stance by passing a bill to sanction officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) after its chief prosecutor requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
The Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act was approved with 247 votes in favor and 155 against. While all 205 Republican members voting supported the bill, only 42 Democrats voted yes.
The bill was spearheaded by Representative Chip Roy from Texas and introduced alongside Conference Chair Elise Stefanik from New York, Representative Brian Mast from Florida, and others. In a statement released on Twitter after the bill’s passage, Roy said, “I am pleased that today the House passed H.R. 8282 – a bill I introduced with @RepBrianMast, @RepStefanik, and others – to sanction the ICC if they attempt to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Americans or our allies.
1/5) “I am pleased that today the House passed H.R. 8282 — a bill I introduced with @RepBrianMast, @RepStefanik, and others — to sanction the ICC if they attempt to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Americans or our allies.
Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) June 4, 2024.
The bill would impose sanctions on individuals involved in ICC investigations of American citizens or U.S. allies who are not members of the ICC, such as Israel. Republicans have criticized the court for creating a false dichotomy between Israel and Hamas, with Stefanik referring to it as an “illegitimate court that equivocates a peaceful nation protecting its right to exist with radical terror groups that commit genocide.
She added that the bill “will hold the corrupt ICC accountable to protect Israel and our allies from baseless attacks from antisemitic unelected bureaucrats at the ICC. Netanyahu himself attacked the ICC charges as “false symmetry” and “beyond outrageous,” disputing the claims made by the court.
Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas is the lead advocate for the bill in the Capitol, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York is unlikely to support it due to strong opposition from the Biden administration. Despite this, Republicans are expected to continue pushing for the bill as tensions between Israel and Hamas persist following a recent terrorist attack.
Absent decisive leadership at the White House, Congress must stand in the breach defending our allies and our sovereignty,” Roy said. Representatives Warren Davidson from Ohio and Thomas Massie from Kentucky abstained from voting on the bill.