5 California Democrats Vote to Suppress International Criminal Court and Support Genocide

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆

𝟒𝟓 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐆𝐎𝐏 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐂𝐂 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 '𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐜'

"𝑨𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝑳𝒐𝒔 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝑪𝑪," 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄.

Forty-five congressional Democrats on Thursday voted with the U.S. House of Representatives' Republican majority in favor of legislation to sanction International Criminal Court officials following the tribunal's issuance of arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and his former defense chief for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.

House lawmakers voted 243-140 in favor of H.R. 23, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act. Introduced by Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Brian Mast (R-Fla.), the bill would "impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court (ICC) engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies."

In November, the ICC issued warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister, "for crimes against humanity and war crimes" in Gaza. According to Gaza officials, Israel's 15-month assault and "complete siege" of the embattled coastal enclave have left more than 165,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing, and over 2 million others forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened.

The ICC also ordered the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and subsequent kidnapping and imprisonment of more than 250 people.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.)—who according to AIPAC Tracker is the top congressional recipient of campaign contributions from pro-Israel lobbyists including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee—said on social media ahead of Thursday's vote that "the ICC's decision to issue arrest warrants against the leadership of Israel represents the weaponization of international law at its most egregious."

Mast, the new chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused the ICC of "legitimizing the false accusations of Israeli war crimes... in order to stop the overwhelming success of Israeli military operations."

However, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of 140 Democrats who voted against the bill, said on social media that "human rights lawyers and others documenting the worst atrocities committed on this planet are heroes who should be celebrated—not punished when the war criminals they pursue are allies of the United States."

"The way this bill is written, Israeli survivors of the Hamas massacres on October 7th who gave testimony about the crimes they endured could be sanctioned for cooperating with the ICC," she continued. "This bill would also be a significant blow to efforts to secure justice for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's victims in Ukraine, and for the victims of both genocides in Darfur, including the one that is ongoing."

"However my colleagues feel about the ICC or how they feel about Netanyahu's atrocities in Gaza, the passage of this bill is a profound mistake," Omar added. "For those reasons, I opposed this bill."

Forty-five congressional Democrats on Thursday voted with the U.S. House of Representatives' Republican majority in favor of legislation to sanction International Criminal Court officials following the tribunal's issuance of arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and his former defense chief for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.

House lawmakers voted 243-140 in favor of H.R. 23, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act. Introduced by Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Brian Mast (R-Fla.), the bill would "impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court (ICC) engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies."

In November, the ICC issued warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister, "for crimes against humanity and war crimes" in Gaza. According to Gaza officials, Israel's 15-month assault and "complete siege" of the embattled coastal enclave have left more than 165,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing, and over 2 million others forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened.

The ICC also ordered the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and subsequent kidnapping and imprisonment of more than 250 people.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.)—who according to AIPAC Tracker is the top congressional recipient of campaign contributions from pro-Israel lobbyists including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee—said on social media ahead of Thursday's vote that "the ICC's decision to issue arrest warrants against the leadership of Israel represents the weaponization of international law at its most egregious."

Mast, the new chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused the ICC of "legitimizing the false accusations of Israeli war crimes... in order to stop the overwhelming success of Israeli military operations."

However, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of 140 Democrats who voted against the bill, said on social media that "human rights lawyers and others documenting the worst atrocities committed on this planet are heroes who should be celebrated—not punished when the war criminals they pursue are allies of the United States."

"The way this bill is written, Israeli survivors of the Hamas massacres on October 7th who gave testimony about the crimes they endured could be sanctioned for cooperating with the ICC," she continued. "This bill would also be a significant blow to efforts to secure justice for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's victims in Ukraine, and for the victims of both genocides in Darfur, including the one that is ongoing."

"However my colleagues feel about the ICC or how they feel about Netanyahu's atrocities in Gaza, the passage of this bill is a profound mistake," Omar added. "For those reasons, I opposed this bill."

Amnesty International USA called the vote "deeply disappointing."

"The ICC is part of a global system of international justice of which the U.S. was a chief architect at Nuremberg and beyond," added Amnesty—whose main international organization recently accused Israel of genocide and suspended its Israeli branch for alleged anti-Palestinian bigotry. "If the Senate follows suit, it will do grave harm to the interests of all victims globally and to the U.S. government's ability to champion human rights and the cause of justice."

The United States—which supports Israel with tens of billions of dollars in armed aid and diplomatic cover—reportedly worked with Israel to thwart the ICC's effort to arrest Israeli leaders. The U.S. also opposes the South African-led genocide case against Israel currently before the International Court of Justice.

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned the ICC's effort to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant—who despite being a fugitive from justice was warmly welcomed at the White House last month.

During his first term, Republican U.S. President-elect Donald Trump sanctioned top ICC officials and banned them from entering the United States.

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), Trump's pick for national security adviser, has threatened a "strong response" to the ICC in retaliation for seeking to arrest the Israeli leaders.