US House Of Representatives Agrees To Impose Sanctions On International Criminal Courts

JAKARTA - The United States House of Representatives on Thursday imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), in protest at the issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over Israel's operations in Gaza.

The results of the vote were 243 to 140 in favor of "Unauthorized Court Management Act," which would impose sanctions on any foreigner investigating, arresting, detaining, or adjudicating US citizens or allied citizens, including Israel, who are not members of the court.

Depty-five Democrats joined the 198 Republicans in supporting the bill. No Republican has voted against it.

"America passed this law because an illegal court is seeking to arrest the prime minister of our great ally of Israel," said Republican political party who is also Chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Brian Mast in a speech before the vote.

The DPR's vote, one of the first since Congress was inaugurated last week, underlined strong support among fellow Republican President-elect Donald Trump for the Israeli government, after they controlled both rooms in Congress.

Trump will be sworn in on January 20 for a second term as president.

The newly appointed Republican majority leader in the Senate, John Thune, has promised quick consideration of the law, so Trump can sign it into law as soon as he takes office.

The ICC is a permanent court that can try individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes of aggression in member states or by their citizens.

Previously, the ICC had said its decision to file a warrant against Israeli officials was in line with its approach in all cases, based on the prosecutor's assessment that there was sufficient evidence to proceed, and the view that filing an arrest warrant could immediately prevent ongoing crimes.

Republicans in Congress have criticized the ICC since issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the 15-month Gaza conflict. Israel rejects the allegations.

Last year, Republican-led House of Representatives passed a law seeking to sanction the ICC in June, but the move was never discussed in the Senate, which at the time was controlled by a majority of Democrats.