The United States House of Representatives have passed a Bill to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a countermeasure for its arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, in November last year.
The legislators in the lower chamber of the US Congress passed the ‘Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,’ which seeks to protect US officials and all the officials of her allies who are not party to the founding treaty of the ICC against prosecutions by the court.
The bill was overwhelmingly voted for with a big margin of 243 to 140, destined for the Senate which has a majority of the Republican Representatives and has vowed to defend Israel and her leaders.
According to Chip Roy, a Republican representative of Texas and the author of the bill, the passing of the law sanctioning ICC is critically important not only for their friendship with Israel but also for ensuring national security and protecting US officials both at home and abroad.
“America is passing this law because a kangaroo court is seeking to arrest the prime minister of our great ally, Israel. Do not get in the way of America or our allies trying to bring our people home. You will be given no quarter, and again, you will certainly not be welcome on American soil,” Roy said.
Chip Roy accused the ICC of anti-Semitism, trying to prevent the Israeli military from being successful in their efforts to release Israeli and American hostages being held by Hamas. He argued that if the US failed to impose sanctions on the court, US officials could be targeted for their conduct in foreign missions.
What Next?
The bill if passed, will require the President of the US to freeze property assets and deny visas to any foreigners who financially contribute to the court’s efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected person.
According to the bill, protected persons are defined as all current and former military and government officials of the United States and allies such as Israel and others that have not consented to the court’s jurisdiction.
The US and Israel were among the only seven countries that voted against the creation of the ICC in 1998. Though both countries later became signatories to its founding document, the Rome Statute, they never ratified the document.
