Israeli leaders fear arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court – Dagsavisen

The ICC is the world’s first permanent, international court that prosecutes individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and wars of aggression.

As early as 2019, the court’s then chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, concluded that there were reasonable grounds to investigate Israel for war crimes committed in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Two years later, the court decided to initiate such an investigation, with particular emphasis on alleged war crimes committed by Israel during the attacks on the Gaza Strip in 2014.

According to the UN, the Israeli attacks at the time cost 2,251 Palestinians their lives, 65 percent of them civilians, among them over 550 children and nearly 300 women.

Will be held accountable

The Hamas attack on southern Israel in October triggered a new Israeli military offensive against Gaza. Over 34,000 people have been killed so far, around 70 percent of them, according to the Palestinian health authorities, children and women.

Those who break the law will be held accountable.

— Karim Khan, ICC Chief Prosecutor

Nearly 80,000 Palestinians have been injured in the attacks, large parts of the building mass in Gaza have been demolished, and 1.7 million – 75 percent of the inhabitants – have been driven to flee.

ICC’s current Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan https://twitter.com/KarimKhanQC/status/1757081372680700206?lang=en that “all wars have laws and regulations” and promised that the court will bring those responsible for war crimes to justice.

During a visit to the occupied West Bank in November, Khan issued a clear warning to Israeli leaders, and he repeated this in February.

– Since then, I have not seen any noticeable change in the behavior of Israel. As I have repeatedly emphasized, those who do not comply with the law should also not complain when my office later takes action in accordance with its mandate, he stated.

– To all involved: My office actively investigates all crimes allegedly committed. Those who break the law will be held accountable, Khan added.

Nervous leaders

Khan’s statements, and other signals from the ICC, have caused great nervousness among political and military leaders in Israel.

According to several Israeli newspapers, including Haaretz, the Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel, it is feared that the ICC will shortly issue an international arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Defense Chief Herzi Halevi.

Five sources The New York Times has spoken to, among them Israeli, also believe that such arrest warrants may be issued within a short time. The sources do not state what they base this assumption on.

It is also expected that the court will simultaneously issue arrest warrants for several Hamas leaders who may be linked to the attack against Israel in October, the sources state.

The Palestinian movement’s political leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is probably among those who will be wanted in that case. The head of the armed wing Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, will probably do the same.

Will never accept

Israeli officials confirm to Haaretz that the country’s Ministry of Justice and military lawyers are now working hard to prevent an international arrest warrant being issued for Netanyahu, Gallant and Halevi.

According to the newspaper’s sources, it is feared that this could happen within the week.

Netanyahu is also visibly nervous and recently came out hard against the ICC.

– Under my leadership, we will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine Israel’s right to self-defense, https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1783855474573492732.

– The threat to arrest the soldiers and leaders of the Middle East’s only democracy and the world’s only Jewish state is outrageous. We will not give in to this, he continued.

Netanyahu also warned Western leaders that they could be next.

– Even if the ICC will not influence Israel’s actions, it will create a dangerous precedent that threatens soldiers and leaders in all democracies fighting against brutal terrorism, he stated.

Not a member

Israel has never joined the ICC, but Palestine became a member in 2015. This means that the court has jurisdiction in the occupied Palestinian territories and can investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes that take place in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Court has no police force of its own and is therefore dependent on the 124 member states, including Norway, to follow up on any arrest warrants and arrest those who are wanted.

Over the years, the ICC has issued 38 such arrest warrants, including against Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2022.

21 of those wanted have been arrested and handed over to The Hague. It is also a prerequisite, as the court does not have the opportunity to proceed with proceedings against persons “in absentia”.

Humiliating

Although arrest warrants will not necessarily lead to arrest, it will make it difficult for those concerned to travel freely in the world.

Such an arrest warrant would also be highly stigmatizing and in large parts of the world would be seen as a humiliating moral reprimand, especially for Israeli leaders who have had to endure increasing international criticism for the warfare in Gaza.

In the United States, which is considered Israel’s foremost ally, there are now large protests at a number of universities with demands for a halt in military support to the country.

President Joe Biden has accused Israel of “excessive” use of force, but at the same time has to deal with growing criticism within his own party.

Also read: Hamas will respond in writing to the ceasefire offer in 40 days

Unusual pressure

The Democrats’ majority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, himself a Jew and a sworn friend of Israel, has stated that Netanyahu is an obstacle to peace, Senator Elizabeth Warren has accused Israel of genocide, and party veteran Nancy Pelosi has demanded that military aid to the country be frozen.

Why is Joe Biden so silent, wonders the Israeli commentator Zvika Klein in the newspaper The Jerusalem Post.

– The American administration’s hesitation to defend Israel against a potential ICC indictment gives cause for serious concern, she believes.

The analyst Ben Caspit, who writes for the Netanyahu-friendly online newspaper Walla, notes that the Israeli prime minister is “under extraordinary pressure” as a result of the threat from the ICC.

An arrest warrant would seriously weaken Israel’s international reputation, notes Caspit, who writes that Netanyahu is “constantly on the phone”, especially with the Biden administration, to prevent this.

Also read: Attacks on Gaza’s health services: – Hospitals should not be a battlefield

Also read: Norwegian doctor in Gaza: – We have seen the worst of the worst

Read more about the Israel-Palestine conflict