Washington - Saba:
Yesterday evening, Tuesday, Democrats in the US Senate blocked an attempt by Republicans to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court in protest of two arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
The council opposed the bill by a majority of 54 votes to 45, which means that the measure did not receive the 60 votes needed to hold a vote to pass it in the 100-member Senate.
Senator John Fetterman was the only Democrat who voted in favor of the legislation with the Republicans, while Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff abstained from voting.
The “Combating Illegitimate Courts” bill would impose sanctions on any foreign national who investigates, arrests, detains or prosecutes US citizens or citizens of any allied country that is not a member of the court, including Israel.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the legislation earlier this month by a vote of 243 to 140.
Senate Democrats said they agreed with many of the bill’s provisions but called it too broad, risking angering key US allies and imposing sanctions on lower-level staff at the Netherlands-based court.
The top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, said the party had tried to reach a compromise with Republicans but had been unable to do so.
Republicans had previously expressed hope that the bill would pass in time for President Donald Trump to sign it into law shortly after his inauguration on January 20, especially as Netanyahu plans to visit the White House on February 4.
White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump would use an executive order to impose the sanctions.