Speaker Johnson eyes legislation to sanction ICC officials over arrest warrant requests

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is considering legislation that would impose sanctions on officials following the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and others.

Prime Minister Johnson harshly criticized the ICC’s move against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, telling reporters on Tuesday that details of the bill were still being worked out, but that he wanted to “move forward with the censure as soon as possible.” ” he said. ”

“That’s what we’re doing and we’re looking at what the best options are for that. I think it’s going to be bipartisan,” Johnson said when asked if he intended to take steps to respond to the warrants. answered.

Asked whether the effort would include sanctions against individuals involved in arrest warrant requests, Johnson said, “That will be part of the effort.”

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Gallant, Mr. Sinwar, and another Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, citing evidence of war crimes committed throughout the conflict between Israel and Hamas. He announced that he had applied.

in statementMr Khan said Mr Sinwar, Mr Haniya and Hamas military commander Mohamed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri had been held “criminally responsible” for war crimes against Israel, including individual hostage-taking, sexual violence, extermination and torture. “I am indebted to him,” he said.

He also accused Netanyahu and Gallant of criminal charges including the use of starvation as a means of war, deliberate targeting of civilians, extermination and persecution.

ICC judges will now consider whether to uphold the arrest warrant request, which could take months. The United States and Israel are not parties to the court, and relations between the United States and the ICC have been troubled for decades.

Johnson on Monday denounced the ICC’s request for an arrest warrant, saying in a statement that the court’s “baseless and unjust decision should be subject to global condemnation.”

“We cannot allow international bureaucrats to use the rule of law to usurp the authority of democratic countries that uphold the rule of law,” he said.

“Due to the lack of leadership from the White House, Congress is considering all options, including sanctions, to punish the ICC and ensure that its leaders face the consequences if they proceed. “If the ICC is allowed to intimidate Israeli leaders, then we could be intimidated next,” he added.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told senators during a hearing on Tuesday that he wants to work with them to take countermeasures after the ICC applied for an arrest warrant.

“Given what happened yesterday, I think we need to look at the appropriate steps to address again what was a very wrong decision,” he said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department’s budget. Ta.

Asked by Sen. James Risch (R-Ind.) if he would support a bill that “includes ICC issues,” he said, “The devil is in the details. So let’s look at what we got. And we can gain from that.” It is interfering with the business of countries with independent, legal and democratic judiciaries. ”

The ICC’s request for an arrest warrant has drawn bipartisan criticism in the US, with President Biden and House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York joining Republicans in condemning the move.

“The International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants against members of Israel’s democratically elected government is shameful and disingenuous. The United States’ commitment to Israel’s security is steadfast,” Jeffries said Monday. said in a statement. “I join President Joe Biden in strongly condemning any equivalence between Israel and the brutal terrorist organization Hamas.”

However, the opposition was not unanimous. “The ICC prosecutor is right to take this action,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ikola, Vermont), who has been a vocal critic of the rising number of humanitarian deaths in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war. said.

“While we do not know whether these arrest warrants will be executed, it is imperative that the international community abides by international law,” he said in a statement.

“Without these standards of decency and morality, this planet could quickly descend into anarchy, endless war, and barbarism,” he added.