Act now to stop shameful bill sanctioning the ICC

This is a special edition of the Wire brought to you by our sister organization, JVP Action.

In November, the Wire reported on the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Both men stand accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in the Gaza genocide. 

The move was a tangible step toward some form of accountability, and one that could potentially implicate U.S. officials down the line. It represented a new pressure point our movements can and should use to hold our elected officials’ feet to the fire. And it showed just how isolated the Israeli government, and by association the United States, have become on the world stage because of their atrocities against Palestinians.

Now, as the Israeli military intensifies its brutal bombardment and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, the House may vote as early as tomorrow on a bill that would impose sanctions on the ICC, a blatant act of retaliation for its decision to issue the arrest warrants. House Republicans are prioritizing protecting Netanyahu — a wanted war criminal — from prosecution, so much so that it is one of the first bills they are bringing in the new Congress.

What does the bill say?

H.R. 23, the so-called “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,” is a Republican-led initiative that claims that the ICC has no “legitimacy or jurisdiction” over Israel or the United States, because neither country is party to the Rome Statute — the treaty that established the court over twenty years ago. 

Here’s the problem with that argument: The Palestinian territories are a member state of the ICC, and have been since 2015. In 2021, the ICC opened an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in occupied Palestine.

This also isn’t the first time the ICC has sought prosecution for leaders of non-member states. Republicans and Democrats alike publicly supported the ICC’s investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by Russia in Ukraine — even though Russia, like Israel and the U.S., is not a party to the Rome Statute. When the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023, Biden welcomed the decision. 

Predictably, U.S. officials change their tune when U.S. allies, and by extension U.S. officials, could face prosecution. In November, Biden sprang to the Israeli government’s defense, calling the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant “outrageous” — though his administration has said previously that sanctions on the ICC such as those put forward in H.R. 23 “aren’t the answer.” 

What would the bill do?

According to the IMEU Policy Project, the bill currently being pushed by House Republicans would impose mandatory sanctions on anyone, along with all of their immediate family members, who assists or supports in any way the ICC investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting U.S. officials or those from NATO-member countries and major non-NATO allies, like Israel. The bill would also rescind any U.S. funds already obligated to the ICC and block future appropriations to support its work.

For the last 15 months, Biden has made a mockery of both U.S. and international law by fueling the Israeli government’s genocide of Palestinians with billions in U.S. weapons. And just this week, his administration approved an additional $8 billion weapons sale. This ongoing support for genocide and shielding of the Israeli government from accountability has laid the groundwork for legislation like H.R.23, which attacks the very international norms and human rights law that Democrats claim to defend. 

The ICC’s arrest warrants represent a tangible step toward some form of accountability, even if true justice is a long way off. Additionally, because the ICC’s investigation could potentially implicate U.S. officials, it’s also a new pressure point our movements can and should use to hold our elected officials’ feet to the fire. 

The inauguration of Donald Trump is less than two weeks away, and Republicans now control both the House and the Senate. H.R. 23 would be a reintroduction of Trump-era sanctions on the ICC, and members of Congress who oppose his MAGA agenda should be doing everything in their power to stop it.

Take action to stop H.R.23 

With less than two weeks to go before Inauguration Day, House Republicans are pushing hard to reimpose Trump-era sanctions on the ICC. 

Write to your Representative right now and tell them to oppose this shameful legislation. 

What we’re reading: ‘What it’s truly like to sleep in a damp, frigid tent’

Find the JVP Action Wire useful? Support this work with a contribution today.

Paid for by JVP Action.