The U.S. House has passed a bill sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC) over arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior government officials.
The House vote was 247-155, with 42 Democrats supporting the bill and 2 Republicans voting present.
The passed bill is in retaliation to rebuke the court as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues without a clear end in sight.
“The International Criminal Court has overstepped its authority and set a dangerous precedent
The case against Israel is baseless” House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCain said on the floor.
The U.S. government in a statement strongly opposed the bill believing there are more effective ways to defend Israel.
Several Democrats supported the sanctions as they expressed concern with its drafting and questioned whether it had any chance of clearing the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz called for the support of the Republican party in working together to make the bill bipartisan as she argued that the ICC certainly needs to be held accountable over its verdict.
