House passes GOP bill to sanction ICC as it seeks arrest warrant for Netanyahu

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a Republican-led bill that would impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court after its top prosecutor recommended war crimes charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The bill passed by a vote of 247 to 155. Forty-two Democrats crossed partisan lines to help Republicans pass the bill despite opposition from the White House.

The Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, led by Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, would require mandatory sanctions and visa restrictions on any foreign person working or providing funds to the ICC in prosecutions against states -United States, Israel or any other ally of the United States that is not a party to the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act. the ICC.

The vote came weeks after the International Court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, filed requests for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Khan said in a statement that his office had “reasonable grounds to believe” that the two leaders bore responsibility for “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed in Gaza. Khan said the alleged crimes included starving civilians, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population and much more.

Khan also requested arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh. The prosecutor said the three men were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians and were accused of hostage-taking, rape, extermination and more.

Netanyahu told ABC's “Good Morning America” ​​that the court plan was “absurd” and “a success story.”

“These are spurious accusations,” Netanyahu said. “I think they have cast a terrible stain on the ICC.”

The ICC's action drew condemnation from both political parties. President Joe Biden specifically denounced the ICC's request for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders and said there was “no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”

The court's sanction was initially designed to be bipartisan, Chairman Mike Johnson said a few weeks ago.

The White House said Monday that it was “deeply concerned” about the ICC's actions but that ultimately the Biden administration “strongly opposes” the legislation.

“There are more effective ways to defend Israel, preserve U.S. positions on the ICC, and promote international justice and accountability, and the administration stands ready to work with Congress on these options,” a statement from the ICC said. White House, without specifying it. include a veto threat.

President Johnson, during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, said they “cannot allow” the ICC action to stand.

“President Biden should recognize the danger of letting them pursue these illegitimate investigations and the need to sanction the ICC in response,” Johnson said.

The United States does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, and neither does Israel.

ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.