A group of 19 pro-Israel House Democrats is pushing back on the White House's opposition to impose sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to its top prosecutor's decision to seek arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials, Axios reported on Friday.
In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the lawmakers, led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), said they are "deeply outraged" by the ICC's arrest warrant application.
"We urge the Administration to consult with Congress to immediately impose sanctions against the ICC's Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan and any other officials who have demonstrated undue bias in their actions," they wrote, according to Axios.
The letter was signed by 19 Democrats and six Republicans.
Earlier this week, White House spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing with reporters that sanctions were "not the right answer" to deal with the ICC arrest warrants, adding that the administration opposes that approach.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who spoke after Kirby, reiterated that message and said legislation against the ICC "is not something the administration is going to support."
"Sanctions on the ICC are not an effective or appropriate tool to address US concerns. We will work with Congress on other options to address the ICC overreach," she said.
Republicans have been pushing for tough US sanctions against the prosecutor and other ICC officials, but some Democrats want to explore other options.
Robert O'Brien, a top foreign policy adviser to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, told Reuters last week that the United States should slap sanctions on ICC officials who seek an arrest warrant for Israeli leaders.
President Joe Biden condemned the ICC’s move to seek arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, saying in a statement, "The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also denounced the ICC announcement and said he would “work with President Biden and members on all sides to keep support for Israel strong and unwavering.”
Neither Biden nor Schumer indicated what moves they could take against the ICC and whether sanctions would be considered.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)