Congress to Vote on Bill to Protect Netanyahu, Gallant from ICC Arrest Warrants

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Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas): ‘The ICC is an illegitimate court that represents a massive threat to U.S. sovereignty.’

By JNS

The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on Thursday on H.R.23, the “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,” according to a schedule published by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.).

Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Brian Mast (R-Fla.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, reintroduced the bill, which would “shield Israeli officials from the lawless and illegitimate attacks of the so-called ‘International Criminal Court,’” per Roy’s office.

Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the Hague-based court—which is not part of the United Nations or its International Court of Justice—sought arrest warrants last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, then the defense minister.

The bill passed the House last Congress, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) didn’t bring it to the floor for a vote.

“The ICC is an illegitimate court that represents a massive threat to U.S. sovereignty,” Roy’s office stated. “The Trump administration was right to impose sanctions on the associates of the ICC if they dare go after U.S. citizens, servicemembers or our allies. Biden’s decision to reverse that policy was weak, embarrassing and wrong.”
Mast stated that the bill “sends a clear message to the International Criminal Court.”

“We may not recognize you, but you sure as hell will recognize what happens when you target America or its allies,” Mast stated. “The ICC’s attempt to obstruct Israel’s right to defend itself has only prolonged the war and prevented the release of American hostages by boosting Hamas’s morale.”

Roy said the International Criminal Court is “an illegitimate body that has no business interfering with our sovereignty or that of our allies.”

“Now it is engaged in a shameful lawfare campaign against Prime Minister Netanyahu for doing his duty to protect his fellow citizens from Hamas in the wake of the barbaric Oct. 7 attacks,” he stated. “But let’s be clear, this isn’t just about Israel, this is about ensuring that our nation’s sovereignty is protected, as well as the American servicemembers.”

“If we do not check this rogue, leftist ‘court’ now, we can rest assured that our military leadership and troops will be the next targets of its political attacks,” he added.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who is leading a companion bill in the Senate, stated that “barring a decisive response, the ICC now poses a direct threat to the sovereignty of America and our allies.”
“This bill would protect America and Israel from the ICC’s most recent abuse of power,” Cotton said.

On June 5, Cotton called the ICC a “kangaroo court that has no authority to target America or Israel.” He added that “Schumer should take up this bipartisan, House-passed legislation to make clear we will punish this court if they target Americans or our allies.”

Christians United for Israel, AIPAC, the Zionist Organization of America and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies supported the new House bill.

“The ICC’s illegitimate actions set harmful precedents that directly harm the United States, as well as our close ally Israel,” stated Morton Klein, national president of ZOA. “

“U.S. and Israeli political leaders and military personnel need to be able to defend their citizens without being undermined by politically driven investigations which have no legal basis,” he added.