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The US House of Representatives have voted for the second time to sanction individuals working for the International Criminal Court (ICC) related to charges against Israeli officials.

The Republican-led bipartisan bill, led by Brian Mast of Florida and Chip Roy of Florida, passed in a vote of 243-140, which took place on Thursday. It will soon be followed by a Senate vote and has a strong chance of passing, given the bipartisan support of the bill.Ìý

Rights advocates have been raising concerns about the bill, which they say will prevent efforts to prosecute Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes. The Israeli leader has recently avoided consequences for the ICC charges in travelling to Poland, despite an arrest warrant.

"Members of Congress threatening to sanction the International Criminal Court for rightfully charging Israeli officials with war crimes in Gaza are betraying America's core commitment to justice and violating their oath to faithfully uphold our own nation’s laws," Robert McCaw, director of government affairs with the Council for American-Islamic Relations, said in a .

"It seems the far-right Israeli government's supporters in Congress are increasingly desperate to stop the inevitable from happening: war criminals like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders being held accountable for their abhorrent genocidal crimes against Palestinians," he added.

The bill makes clear that it is specifically aimed at protecting Israeli officials from prosecution, noting that both Israel and the US are not parties to the ICC. Similar arguments have been made in the past against holding US officials accountable for war crimes.

"The United States and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute or members of the ICC, and therefore the ICC has no legitimacy or jurisdiction over the United States or Israel," the bill reads, pointing out that both the US and Israel are not members of the ICC.

"The ICC's actions against Israel are illegitimate and baseless, including the preliminary examination and investigation of Israel and applications for arrest warrants against Israeli officials, which create a damaging precedent that threatens the United States, Israel, and all United States partners who have not submitted to the ICC's jurisdiction," reads the bill's text.

The bill was passed on the same day as former President Jimmy Carter's memorial service, with several Congress members absent from voting. There was only one "present" vote, which came from Thomas Massie of Kentucky, one of the few Republicans who has refused to vote for bills in support of Israel's military on multiple occasions.

In a statement released in July, Joe Biden's administration said that it "strongly opposes HR 8282" that would impose sanctions on those involved with the ICC.

"This legislation could require sanctions against court staff, judges, witnesses, and US allies and partners who provide even limited, targeted support to the court in a range of aspects of its work," reads the White House statement. Since then, however, Biden, a strong supporter of Israel's war on Gaza, has not been outspoken on the bill.