Democrats face another Israel split with ICC sanctions vote
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The International Criminal Court's headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. Photo: Selman Aksunger/Anadolu via Getty Images.
House Democrats have found themselves facing familiar divisions this week with a vote to sanction the International Criminal Court for seeking arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials.
Why it matters: The White House on Monday announced its formal opposition to the GOP legislation, but it is likely to get votes from pro-Israel Democrats anyway.
- Democrats have repeatedly found themselves in this position since the onset of the war in Gaza.
State of play: The House is set to vote Tuesday on the sanctions legislation, which was introduced by conservative Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and is co-sponsored by more than 60 House Republicans.
- The legislation would sanction those involved in ICC prosecutions of Americans or citizens of U.S. allies that are not ICC members, such as Israel.
- The White House issued a statement on Monday saying President Biden "strongly opposes" the bill.
- "There are more effective ways to defend Israel, preserve U.S. positions on the ICC, and promote international justice and accountability, and the Administration stands ready to work with the Congress on those options," the statement said.
What they're saying: Several pro-Israel House Democrats, including Reps. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), signaled to Axios that they will likely to vote for the legislation.
- "I need to take a look at it, but I'm in favor of sanctioning of sanctioning the ICC in principle," said Torres.
- "If the ICC can target the Israeli government, what's to stop the ICC from targeting the president, from targeting members of Congress? It sets a dangerous precedent."
What we're hearing: Another House Democrat who plans to vote for the bill predicted there will be a "good group" of Democratic votes for it — potentially as many or more than the 19 Democrats who signed a letter to the administration calling for sanctions.
- The lawmaker noted that while the administration opposes the bill, they did not threaten a veto – as they last month did with a bill to force Biden to transfer offensive weaponry to Israel.
- They also pointed to a provision in the bill allowing the president to waive the sanctions if they certify that the ICC has halted the relevant prosecution efforts as giving Democrats cover to vote for the bill.
Yes, but: A senior House Democrat acknowledged there will be "some" defections but added, "I don't think it's going to be a big number."
