US Senate blocks bill sanctioning ICC over Israeli arrest warrants

Democrats in the US Senate have obstructed the passage of a bill that would allow the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.

The bill received 54 votes in favor and 45 opposed in the vote on Tuesday, which is below the 60 required for a final vote.

The bill would set a dangerous precedent in a time when the international legal order is increasingly important, according to experts from the UN, European officials, and the current and former presidents of the ICC’s management body.

However, many of the Democrats who voted against the measure still alleged that the court had issued warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant to bring unfair charges against Israel. Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas, is also on a warrant for his involvement in the southern Israeli attack on October 7, 2023.

The ICC has denied bias in its actions.

Speaking before the vote, Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Party leader in the Republican-controlled Senate, said the sanctions bill is “one I largely support and would like to see become law”.

The bill before us is poorly drafted and incredibly problematic, he said, arguing that the bill could hurt both US allies and businesses that deal with the court. “As much as I oppose the ICC bias against Israel, I want to see that institution drastically reformed and reshaped,

He demanded that Republicans revisit the negotiation table to change the legislation’s language.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, said the targeting of a “close US ally should concern everyone.” He spoke on the floor in support of the bill.

“While the ICC is targeting Israelis today, it could easily set its sights on Americans”, he said.

Only one Democrat cast a ballot in favor of the legislation, Senator John Fetterman. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful pro-Israel organization, praised him quickly.

The organization thanked Fetterman for his “principled pro-Israel leadership and for standing with Israel against the ICC’s baseless attacks” in a post on the social media platform X.

President Donald Trump has previously been harsh with the ICC and has imposed sanctions on its officials in 2020 due to concerns that it is looking into US military operations abroad.

Former President Joe Biden’s administration later reversed that decision, but Trump did so last week when he took office.

His move has so far been symbolic, as the reversal did not automatically re-impose the sanctions.

The “culture of impunity”

The Rome Statute, which established the ICC, was signed by neither Israel nor the US.

However, the court has argued that, because the alleged war crimes occurred in Gaza, Israeli officials could be held liable for their actions.

Since 2015, the State of Palestine has been an ICC member.

Similar arguments were made by the court when it issued arrest warrants for Russian officials for alleged abuses in Ukraine, which US officials at the time praised. Ukraine is a member of the ICC, but Russia is not.

In their prosecution of Netanyahu and Gallant, ICC prosecutors argued that Israeli restrictions on providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, including water and medicine, constituted starvation as a form of warfare.

The two Israeli officials are also accused of waging war crimes against civilians, including murder and persecution, and of directing attacks against them.

To date, Israel’s war in Gaza has killed 47, 354 Palestinians, while displacing nearly the entire population of the enclave. Since January 19, there has been a flimsy ceasefire.

Before both of the men were killed in Israeli strikes, the ICC also sought arrest warrants for Ismail Haniyeh, the country’s political leader, and Yahya Sinwar, its top leader in Gaza.

Earlier this month, UN experts called on the US Senate to reject the bill after it was passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The experts said it is shocking to see a nation that values itself as a proponent of the rule of law trying to thwart accountability by blocking the actions of an independent and impartial tribunal established by the international community.

They added that ICC threats “promote a culture of impunity.”

Current and former leaders of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court, the body that oversees the court, warned that sanctions could “significantly impede” at least 20 investigations around the world in an article published by the Just Security website on Monday.

“While challenges remain, we are committed to the ICC’s vision of justice and its mandate to ensure that no one is above the law, regardless of power”, they wrote.

Source: Aljazeera