The House of Representatives on Tuesday, largely along party lines, passed a bill condemning the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor’s efforts to indict Israel’s top leaders on war crimes charges in connection with attacks against Hamas and imposing wide-ranging sanctions on International Criminal Court officials.
The bill would require President Biden to restrict entry into the United States, revoke visas, and impose financial restrictions on all court officials involved in the investigation, arrest, detention, and prosecution of “protected persons” who are allies of the United States, as well as those who provide “financial, material, or technical support” to these efforts.
Biden’s advisers said he was “strongly opposed” to the measure because it would impose sanctions on a very wide range of officials, including court officials and witnesses involved in the proceedings. But the move reflected broad bipartisan anger in Washington after the Supreme Court’s top prosecutor announced late last month that he would seek indictments against both Israeli and Hamas leaders.
The Republican-written bill passed with 247 votes in favor and 155 against, with two Republicans present and 42 Democrats voting in cross-party support.
The bill’s author, Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, said it was a necessary step to prevent the International Court of Justice from acting beyond its jurisdiction and to address concerns that actions against Israeli officials could be a precursor to actions against American officials.
“What happens here will come back to haunt us and our country,” Roy said Tuesday, “which is why it’s important that we speak out with one voice, with authority and with force.”
The move has been widely condemned in Washington since Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, publicly called on the court’s judges to seek indictments. Lawmakers from both parties say it oversteps the court’s jurisdiction and inappropriately compares the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close U.S. ally, to those of Yahya Sinwar, leader of the terrorist organization Hamas, accusing both of crimes against humanity.
“The ICC prosecutor seeks to equate the decision to defend Israel, made by its democratically elected leaders, with that of the terrorist leaders of Hamas,” said Rep. Gregory W. Meeks of New York, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. “There is no moral or legal equivalence here, I repeat.”
But despite bipartisan dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court’s prosecutors, Meeks opposed the bill along with most other Democrats who had pushed for a bipartisan measure that reflected broader rejection of the Supreme Court’s action but did not resort to sanctions.
“If our goal is to change the ICC’s behavior, sanctions are the wrong tool,” Meeks said. “Sanctions are completely ineffective here. They won’t force the ICC to back down, and they may actually pressure the ICC to pursue this case more aggressively.”
Republicans and Democrats have been working on a coordinated response since Khan announced his decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, but the White House rejected a compromise approved by House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, because the administration did not want the ICC to impose sanctions.
“We worked hard to reach a bipartisan agreement, a bipartisan bill that the chairman and Mr. Jeffries endorsed,” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that led the talks, said Tuesday. “But the bill that was presented to the White House was rejected.”
Republicans have sought to split Democrats over the Gaza war and exploit divisions on the left over Netanyahu’s tactics, but have decided to go ahead with the measures they want anyway.
“This case is already moving much faster than expected, so we need to act quickly,” McCaul said before the vote.
White House national security spokesman John F. Kirby told reporters last week that he did not think imposing sanctions on the Supreme Court or its supporters was the right approach.
“We are clear that we do not believe the ICC has jurisdiction,” he said, “but we will never support these arrest warrants, and we have said that before, but we do not believe that sanctioning the ICC is the solution.”
Ahead of the bill’s passage, a White House official said in a statement that the administration “strongly opposes” the measure but stopped short of threatening a veto. The official said the administration was “deeply concerned” about the warrants, but that “there are more effective ways to protect Israel, uphold the United States’ position at the ICC, and promote international justice and accountability.”
Roy acknowledged his bill is unlikely to become law in its current form, but said he remains hopeful that a bipartisan proposal could still emerge.
“If the Senate wants to make amendments, they can send it back to the House and try to address the concerns that their colleagues on the other side or on this side have raised,” Roy said Tuesday, adding, “The Senate can send it back to us and we can send a deliverable to the president.”
House Democrats were infuriated by Roy’s insistence on rushing through the bill despite knowing lawmakers would not support it on issues where there was agreement.
“Once again, we have a poorly drafted and poorly messaged bill that was introduced without any committee process, normal procedure or thought through,” said Representative Brad Sherman, D-Calif. “We cannot vote for such a weak bill today and expect the Senate to fix it.”
