American media: Republican representatives are preparing legislation to punish ICC officials

Republican representatives in the US House of Representatives are preparing legislation to impose sanctions on International Criminal Court officials as a “precautionary measure” against possible arrest warrants for Israeli officials, according to what the Axios website reported yesterday, Tuesday.

The website added, quoting House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), that “legislation is under preparation,” noting that he and other lawmakers from the Republican Party had been in contact with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan.

He stressed that "going down this path of arrest warrants is a really bad idea and will destroy the relationship."

He continued: "We are not sure if arrest warrants are imminent, but this is kind of a precaution to let them know that if they do that we have this legislation ready to implement, and it will not be introduced unless we have to."

Members of the pro-Israel US House of Representatives from both the Republican and Democratic parties warned that the International Criminal Court "risks" consequences from the United States if it goes ahead with issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials.

McCaul noted that "the bill will accompany Republican Senator Tom Cotton's legislation in the House of Representatives, which was introduced last February, to punish ICC officials involved in investigations of US allies who are not members of the ICC, such as Israel."

Last Monday, Cotton, along with dozens of Republicans in the Senate, sent a letter to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, in which they threatened that the arrest orders “will lead to severe penalties against you and your institution.”

The United States, through its officials, expressed its opposition to the International Criminal Investigation into Israel’s practices in Gaza, amid reports that Israeli officials fear that the court will issue arrest warrants against them, after it conducted interviews with workers in the two largest hospitals in Gaza.

Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the Court, stated that the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over any possible war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza.

The Israeli occupation forces continue the war on Gaza despite the Security Council issuing a resolution to stop the fighting immediately, and despite the issuance of instructions from the International Court of Justice to take immediate measures to prevent acts of “genocide” and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.