US visa bans, financial sanctions for ICC officials, 24 senators say

(JNS) A U.S. Senate resolution that condemns the decision of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to apply for warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant drew signatures from 24 senators of both parties.

The resolution, led by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), resolves that the Senate “stands with Israel and fully rejects the action by the International Criminal Court against senior Israeli officials.”

“Congress and the executive branch should impose financial sanctions and visa bans on officials of the International Criminal Court for an abuse of power that threatens United States interests and weakens United States allies,” the senators resolved.

“The United States should urge its allies and partners, who largely fund the International Criminal Court, to use their leverage to halt the politicized proceedings,” they added.

“The International Criminal Court’s decision to charge Israeli leadership with war crimes is shocking and disgraceful,” Manchin said. “Israel is facing an existential threat in Hamas’s brutal terrorist agenda, and I have continued to support the country’s right to defend itself in a manner expected of a nation that abides by the law of armed conflict.”