ISRAEL is pushing the International Criminal Court (ICC) to delay issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Gaza. Official Israeli media sources say Tel Aviv is putting diplomatic pressure on the Hague-based court to delay a possible arrest warrant for the two.
“But it is difficult to predict whether this action will affect the judge’s decision,” Haaretz newspaper said on Wednesday (8/14). On May 20, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said he had requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.
While Israel has condemned and rejected the prosecutor’s request, it remains unclear what Tel Aviv’s response would be if an arrest warrant were issued. According to Haaretz, Israeli officials are now busy assessing whether the ICC has jurisdiction to rule on issues related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The request for a warrant for Khan’s arrest is now being considered by a panel of ICC judges who need to rule on the matter. Before making a ruling, the judges will review legal opinions submitted by several countries and international organizations on the warrant requested.
“But Israeli officials do not know how long the review process will take,” Haaretz said. Israel is not a member of the ICC. Palestine was admitted in 2015.
The ICC, established in 2002, is an independent international body not affiliated with the United Nations or any other international body and its decisions are binding. Although Israel rejects the ICC’s jurisdiction, the court’s powers extend to the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, allowing it to try Israeli officials accused of crimes in the territories.
In a May 21 interview with CNN, ICC Prosecutor Khan revealed that he received threats while investigating Israeli officials. Current and former Israeli officials have rejected Khan’s actions on the grounds that they do not recognize the court’s jurisdiction. They have accused the ICC of anti-Semitism and called on Tel Aviv’s allies to defund and dissolve the court. (TRT/Z-2)
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