Last week, an overwhelming majority of senators moved to cut funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as punishment for President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to join the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a rare display of bipartisanship, 75 senators signed a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, accusing Abbas of intentionally challenging “Israel’s legitimate right to defend its citizens and territory.” The lawmakers reminded Kerry that their 2015 appropriations bill prohibited funding for the PA if they initiated or actively supported an ICC investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes.

The PA, who submitted documents to join the ICC on New Year’s Eve, will be admitted to the court on April 1. The court would have retroactive jurisdiction to investigate war crimes dating back to June 13, 2014, meaning that the entirety of last summer’s Gaza War could fall under ICC scrutiny.

It is unclear why Palestinian membership in an international organization designed to prosecute war crimes challenges Israel’s right to self-defense—unless, of course, these senators are arguing that Israel’s right to self-defense includes the right to commit war crimes. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu froze $127 million in Palestinian tax revenues, the State Department called on both the Israelis and Palestinians to avoid actions “raise tensions.” Cutting a major economic lifeline to the Palestinians, at the behest of Netanyahu, would inevitably raise tensions. But this is hardly the first time members of Congress have moved to align themselves more closely with the Israeli right than with their own government.

When the State Department announced that they would continue to cooperate with the newly formed Fatah-Hamas unity government last year, Senator Rand Paul went rogue and introduced legislation aiming to cut all aid to the Palestinians until the new government agreed to “a lasting peace.”

The senator’s efforts to endear himself to the pro-Israel establishment hit an unexpected roadblock when the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) pushed back. “We are not supporting the Paul bill,” a spokesman told The Hill last year. “We believe the law currently on the books is strong and ensures that aid is contingent on key conditions that help maintain America’s influence, keep Israel secure and advance the peace process.” Paul’s bill, called the Stand with Israel Act of 2014, died in Congress shortly after.