ICC arrest warrant threats against Netanyahu prompt intense House talks: ‘No jurisdiction’

The House of Representatives has launched bipartisan talks about how to respond to possible arrest warrants by the ICC against top Israeli officials.

Key House lawmakers are working on a U.S. response to the ICC after its chief prosecutor said he was seeking arrest warrants against Hamas and Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center. (Getty Images)

McCaul told Fox News Digital when reached for comment, "The ICC is a flawed and politically motivated judicial body. In addition, the ICC has no jurisdiction here and its announcement violates its own stated position as a court of last resort."

"Israel has a robust judicial system, so there is no need for the ICC to get involved here. Congress needs to respond with strong, bipartisan sanctions. We do not know what a final bill will look like, but all relevant parties are discussing options," McCaul said.

With the House facing a week-long recess after Thursday’s afternoon votes, it’s likely the chamber will not see action until June.

But Johnson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that he was looking at multiple options for a response.

"There's some great ideas on the table. We're down to the fine points of that," he said, adding that he discussed the matter directly with Netanyahu on Friday and intended to do so again that day.

"This is a great threat to the international community and to our allies, and to us ultimately, as explained earlier, so we're getting down to the fine points of that and, hopefully, it will be a bipartisan bill and that everybody will be able to stand together," Johnson said.

One possible option is a House bill introduced earlier this month by Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., a Foreign Affairs Committee member who worked with the IDF, and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.

BIDEN SLAMS ICC’S ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ REQUEST FOR NETANYAHU ARREST WARRANT 

Rep. Chip Roy, who is also privy to discussions, said there are outstanding concerns about waiver permissions. (Getty Images)

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Mast said he anticipated a vote sometime in early June.

When reached for further comment, Johnson's office said it had nothing to add beyond his and Jeffries' remarks. 

Notably, the Mast-Roy bill has seen its support swell since the ICC's announcement earlier this week from 15 original co-sponsors to 62 – roughly a quarter of the House GOP conference. 

Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., who is not a co-signer but supports a response to the ICC, urged strong U.S. action.

"I think we need to be emphatic that a globalist organization does not have purview and domain over sovereign nations just writ large," he said. "I think there's fundamentally a problem with countries being subjected to a very arbitrary and capricious globalist organization like this, that really has a political bent to it."

Israel, like the U.S., is not under ICC jurisdiction. The Palestinian territories joined in 2015.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

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