Israel: We will attack the Palestinian Authority if the ICC issues an arrest warrant

Israel is threatening to take measures that could lead to the PA’s collapse.

Anti War, May 2, 2024.

Israel has told the US that if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, it will take strong action against the Palestinian Authority (PA) that could lead to its collapse, reported Axios Wednesday.

Israel has claimed it has information suggesting the PA is urging the ICC to issue the arrest warrants expected to target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.

A senior Israeli official told Axios that if the warrants are issued, the Israeli government is likely to approve measures that could lead to the collapse of the PA. Israel could freeze the transfer of tax revenue that it collects for the PA, which would bankrupt the government.

The US opposes any arrest warrants from the ICC and has said the court lacks jurisdiction. Russia has accused the US of hypocrisy in the case, since it supported the ICC’s arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Neither Israel nor Russia are parties to the ICC.

In 2021, the ICC began investigating the Israeli military and Palestinian militants in connection with the 2014 Gaza War. The court expanded its investigation into the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel and the genocidal Israeli campaign in Gaza that followed. It is possible that the court will issue arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders.

Netanyahu has declared that the arrest warrant for Israeli officials for the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza would be an “unprecedented anti-Semitic hate crime”. He urged the United States and other countries to work against the court.

Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which handles disputes between states. The US has rejected the ICJ’s ruling that it is “likely” that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

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This article was published by Anti-War.

Israel Tells US It Will Target the Palestinian Authority If ICC Issues Warrants

Translated for steigan.no by Espen B. Øyulvstad

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Dave DeCamp is the news editor at Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave. View all posts by Dave DeCamp

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See also:

Jeffrey Sachs comments on Gaza, freedom of speech at American universities and Ukraine:

John Mearsheimer comments on genocide and freedom of speech and academia:

The Duran comments on the ICC:

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Israel: Has begun the evacuation of civilians in Rafah PUBLISHED AS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT 06:32 The Israeli army has begun the evacuation of civilians in Rafah in anticipation of an expected military operation. This is written by the Reuters news agency, which quotes Israeli radio. This has not been confirmed by the Israeli army. On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hinted that a planned military operation in Rafah would begin shortly. Rafah is located in the south of the Gaza Strip. Over 1 million people have fled to the city since the war started on 7 October. (NRK)