Washington DC - The US House on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to sanction International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, with dozens of Democrats siding with Republicans to advance the measure.

The House voted 243-140 to pass HR 23, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, introduced in response to the ICC's issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The bill would "impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies."

The legislation claims the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant "should be condemned in the strongest possible terms."

Donald Trump Trump warned by France and Germany as Greenland military threats spark alarm in Europe

"What’s their top priority the first week of the new Congress? Lowering costs? Addressing the housing crisis? No, it's sanctioning the International Criminal Court to protect genocidal maniac Netanyahu so he can continue the genocide in Gaza," Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, posted on X.

Amnesty International USA also criticized the "deeply disappointing" move, stating, "The ICC is part of a global system of international justice of which the U.S. was a chief architect at Nuremberg and beyond. If the Senate follows suit, it will do grave harm to the interests of all victims globally and to the U.S. government’s ability to champion human rights and the cause of justice."

More than 15 months into the Gaza genocide, 45 Democrats joined Republicans in voting in favor of the ICC sanctions bill – as the US continues to fund Israel's atrocities.