The House passed a bill Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. 

The Senate is expected to take up the bill as soon as next week.

The measure passed the House on a 243-140 vote, with 45 Democrats joining almost all Republicans in support of the measure. One Republican voted present, while 20 Republicans and 30 Democrats didn’t vote. 

The Democratic support was similar to the last Congress when 42 Democrats voted for the bill in June. At that time, the ICC’s top prosecutor announced his plans to secure the arrest warrants, but they weren’t issued.

In November, the judges of the ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, issued arrest warrants against Mr. Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the former defense minister. The court concluded the two Israeli leaders were criminally responsible for acts such as murder and starvation against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.

The House-passed bill, sponsored by Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy, would impose economic and visa-related sanctions for any individual participating or aiding in the prosecution or arrest of Israeli officials, as well as American citizens or officials from other countries that are U.S. allies. The sanctions also apply to ICC officials’ families, which means any visas they hold would no longer be valid to enter or remain in the U.S.

Mr. Roy called the ICC arrest warrants “a political witch hunt” and said the sanctions are necessary to protect U.S. and Israeli citizens.

“This legislation is inherently America first,” he said. “We have had situations where we’ve had American soldiers and our people targeted by the ICC. It will happen again if the House of Representatives and the Senate and the president don’t take action to sanction the ICC.”

President Biden didn’t threaten to veto the bill, but his administration did come out against it when the House took it up last June. The White House said the measure was written too broadly and “could require sanctions against court staff, judges, witnesses, and U.S. allies and partners who provide even limited, targeted support to the court in a range of aspects of its work.”

Senate Democrats never took up the House-passed bill last Congress. After Republicans won control of the chamber following the November election, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said Republicans would pass it when they took over. 

Mr. Thune, now officially in the majority leader role, on Wednesday announced plans to vote on the ICC sanctions bill soon but didn’t specify a date. 

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast, Florida Republican, said the ICC in issuing the arrest warrants “is legitimizing the false accusations of Israeli war crimes.”

“Israel is the tip of the spear in bringing the fight to an enemy who currently holds and has killed our fellow Americans,” he said. “Israel has conducted this war with as much restraint as war can allow. In the face of horror, they have shown humanity.”

Many Democrats disagree that Mr. Netanyahu has shown humanity in his response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. 

Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, said Mr. Netanyahu has a right to defend his people, but at least 45,000 people have been killed in Gaza and he fears that number is much higher.

“There is no international right to vengeance, and what we are seeing in Gaza is vengeance,” Mr. McGovern said. 

The U.S. doesn’t recognize the ICC’s authority, but lawmakers haven’t targeted the court when it has taken action against U.S. adversaries, like Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Republicans haven’t criticized the ICC for issuing arrest warrants against three Hamas leaders, but they want to sanction the ICC “simply because they don’t want the rules to apply to everyone,” Mr. McGovern said.