Thune stated he would make the sanction laws ‘a prime precedence’ within the subsequent Congress ought to the present Senate majority chief fail to behave on it.
Incoming Senate Majority Chief John Thune (R-S.D.) on Nov. 17 urged the Senate to impose sanctions in opposition to the Worldwide Prison Courtroom (ICC) if it continued to pursue arrest warrants for Israeli officers over the Israel–Hamas battle in Gaza.
In June, the Home of Representatives handed a invoice geared toward imposing sanctions on these concerned within the ICC’s efforts “to analyze, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected particular person.” Beneath this invoice, these topic to sanctions can be ineligible to enter or stay in the US.
Thune stated the Senate Republican majority will make the invoice, together with different supportive laws, “a prime precedence within the subsequent Congress” ought to there be no motion taken by outgoing Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“If the ICC and its prosecutor don’t reverse their outrageous and illegal actions to pursue arrest warrants in opposition to Israeli officers, the Senate ought to instantly move sanctions laws, because the Home has already finished on a bipartisan foundation,” Thune said on social media platform X.
In Might, the ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Protection Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged battle crimes in Gaza sparked by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 assault on southern Israel.
Khan additionally requested arrest warrants for 3 Hamas leaders over the killings and kidnappings that Hamas terrorists dedicated after they entered southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
A bipartisan group of senators launched a press release on Might 21, saying: “These actions by the ICC jeopardize efforts to result in sustainable peace within the Center East. It places in danger delicate negotiations to carry residence hostages, together with Individuals, and surge humanitarian help.”
Not all lawmakers opposed the ICC transfer.
“The allegations from the prosecutor’s workplace are vital, and it has lengthy been my perception that the absence of credible processes for justice are a key cause the battle between Israel and Palestinians continues to escalate,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) stated in Might.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) stated in Might that the ICC prosecutor was proper to take these actions. “These arrest warrants could or will not be carried out, however it’s crucial that the worldwide group uphold worldwide legislation,” he stated on the time.
The Biden administration expressed issues about Khan’s arrest warrant functions for Israeli officers however stated that it “strongly opposes” imposing sanctions in opposition to the ICC as a response.
In a June assertion, the White Home warned that the laws “may require sanctions in opposition to courtroom workers, judges, witnesses, and U.S. allies and companions who present even restricted, focused help to the courtroom in a spread of facets of its work.”
“There are more practical methods to defend Israel, protect U.S. positions on the ICC, and promote worldwide justice and accountability, and the Administration stands able to work with the Congress on these choices,” it said.
Some Republican senators stated they agreed with Thune’s place of imposing sanctions in opposition to the ICC over its arrest warrants for Israeli officers.
“Nicely finished Senator Thune,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on X. “The ICC’s actions in opposition to Israel have been outrageous, and an unbiased evaluation into the prosecutor’s actions is greater than known as for.”
Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), rating member of the Senate International Relations Committee, stated the Senate ought to instantly move the sanction laws in opposition to the ICC.
“We waited for months for almost all to schedule the vote solely to have them postpone it earlier than the election. We won’t fail to behave when Republicans are within the majority,” Risch said on X.
Schumer didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Thune’s assertion.
State Division spokesman Matthew Miller stated on Might 20 that the ICC lacks jurisdiction to carry costs referring to the continued battle between the Israeli army and the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
Khan stated on Aug. 23 that the ICC had jurisdiction over the matter and urged the courtroom to urgently resolve on his request for arrest warrants.
“Any unjustified delay in these proceedings detrimentally impacts the rights of victims,” the ICC prosecutor said in a courtroom submitting dated Aug. 23.
Jackson Richman contributed to this report.
