Senate Democrats Block Bill to Sanction the ICC for Targeting Israeli Officials
The bill needed 60 votes to pass and failed in a vote
of 54-45
by Dave DeCamp January 28, 2025
On Tuesday, Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would sanction the International Criminal
Court (ICC) over its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their role in the
genocidal war in Gaza.
The bill, which had already passed through the House,
needed 60 votes to advance through the Republican-controlled Senate, but it failed in a vote of 54-45. Every Republican voted in favor, but the bill only
received support from one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (PA), who has been
extremely supportive of Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
“Deeply disappointed by the outcome of the ICC
sanctions bill,” Fetterman wrote on X after the vote. “My vote follows Israel—not the ICC that equivocated
the democratically elected leader of our special ally to the terrorists and
rapists of Hamas.”
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed
Deif, the head of Hamas’s military wing. The court sought warrants for two
other Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh — but they were both
killed by Israel before the warrants were issued.
Congress is still expected to pass some sort of
legislation to sanction the ICC since Democratic leadership wants to punish the
court for investigating Israeli war crimes but thought the bill brought to the
floor on Tuesday was too broad and could lead to sanctions against US allies
that are ICC member states.
“The ICC bill is one I largely support and would like
to see become law,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said ahead of the
vote. “However, as much as I oppose the ICC bias against Israel, as much as I
want to see that institution drastically reformed and reshaped, the bill before
us is poorly drafted and deeply problematic.
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