140 House Democrats Vote Against Bill To Sanction International Criminal Court For Seeking To Arrest Netanyahu

A majority of House Democrats voted Thursday against legislation that would sanction the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants for Israel’s leadership over the country’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

The bill, known as the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, is sponsored by Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy and 29 other GOP lawmakers. The legislation is headed to the Senate after passing the House Thursday 243-140 with 50 lawmakers not voting.

“I am pleased the House passed, my bill H.R. 23 “The Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act” to hold the ICC accountable for targeting Israel and ensure they will face consequences for going after American servicemembers or our allies,” Roy told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation. “Make no mistake, if the ICC is allowed to target Israel unchecked, they will go after American service members and veterans — like the thousands who live in TX-21 — again in the future.”

“I look forward to the Senate taking up and passing HR 23 quickly and sending to the President’s desk,” Roy added.

If the bill clears the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and President-elect Donald Trump signs the legislation into law, Trump would be required to impose sanction on the ICC for any efforts by the Netherlands–based court to issue arrest warrants for “any protected person of the United States and its allies,” according to the bill text.

Just 45 House Democrats voted to pass the legislation and 30 Democratic lawmakers did not vote. Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Congress’s lone Palestinian-American lawmaker who has frequently called Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” and been