Chairman Mast Speaks on the House Floor in Support of the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast delivered remarks on the House Floor in support of H.R. 23, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act.

The bill, which Chairman Mast introduced alongside Rep. Chip Roy and 27 Republican co-sponsors, imposes sanctions on the International Criminal Court for its unwarranted targeting of Isreal.

In his remarks, Chairman Mast criticized the ICC's arrest warrants targeting Israeli officials as Israel defends itself against heinous terrorist attacks. He also underscored that the U.S. must not allow the ICC to stand in the way of safe return of American hostages held by Hamas.

-Remarks as delivered -

Mr. speaker, I rise today in support of the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, a bill that I am proud to have worked on with my colleague and my friend, Representative Chip Roy.

A bill that sanctions International Criminal Court officials and their families, and anybody who is assisting them.

Why? Because they are targeting America's allies who are, right now, the front line of fighting to bring American hostages home from Gaza.

America is passing this law because On November 21, 2024, the international criminal court pretrial chamber issued warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel's former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Let me explain that in a more detailed way. America is passing this law because a kangaroo court is seeking to arrest the Prime Minister of our great ally Israel, who is not only responding to an enemy which conducted a genocide, killing as many men, women, and children, as possible, even beheading some of them on Oct. 7, 2024.

But An enemy who still holds 100 hostages, scores of bodies of those that they murdered, including seven of my fellow Americans.

Let me say that again, Israel is the tip of the spear in bringing the fight to an enemy who currently holds, and has killed, our fellow Americans.

Israel has conducted this war with as much restraint as war can allow.

In the face of horror, they have showed humanity.

We know that for Israel, any civilians dying is a tragedy.

And we know that for Hamas and the Palestinians who support them civilians dying is literally their strategy for victory.

Hamas strategy uses hospitals and schools as basis for combat operations.

Not some fighter accidentally walked into a hospital for five minutes carrying their machine gun, NO, they build hospitals and schools into fortified launching points for attack. In clear violation of the laws of armed conflict, Hamas deliberately targets civilians.

What the ICC is doing, with their arrest warrants, is legitimizing the false accusations of Israeli war crimes, in order to do something. In order to stop the overwhelming success of Israeli military operations.

Now Mr. speaker, I don't care if a person is a terrorist in a cave or if they are a lawyer in the Hague, if they are getting in the way of bringing home our Americans or bringing home our allies, who are, as we speak, in this very moment, bound, blind folded, tortured, raped, enslaved, starved, facing execution.

If you are getting in the way of bringing them home, then we will give you no quarter, and we will certainly not allow you to be welcomed to American soil!

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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