File: Pro-Palestinian activists staged a protest outside 10 Downing Street in London on March 25, 2023. The International Criminal Court may be considering issuing international arrest warrants in the near future against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials for alleged war crimes, Israeli media reported
The International Criminal Court may be considering issuing international arrest warrants in the relatively near future against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials for alleged war crimes, Israeli website N12 reported Thursday night.
Around 125 countries are members of the ICC, including essentially all of Europe, and are bound by treaty law to honor the ICC’s arrest warrants, though there have been examples of countries protesting such warrants and refusing to honor them, Israeli daily Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday
Israeli media also reported that the cabinet has met in emergency session regarding plans by the ICC to issue arrest warrants against its senior political and military leadership. It has not yet been reported by global media. Those to be named will be Prime Minister Netanyahu and senior IDF commanders responsible for the Gaza genocide. The warrants would be filed sometime next month according to 972 Magazine’s Yuval Avraham (see tweet).
אנחנו מדווחים הערב שבישראל גובר החשש מהאפשרות להוצאת צווי מעצר בבית הדין הבינלאומי הפלילי בהאג נגד בכירים ישראליים, כולל נגד ראש הממשלה נתניהו, על רקע המלחמה בעזה. >>
— Yaron Avraham ירון אברהם (@yaronavraham) April 18, 2024
“Ministers and…government legal experts held an ’emergency discussion” at the Prime Minister’s Office…regarding how to fend off the feared imminent issuing of such arrest warrants, “Tikum Ulam reported
The meeting was convened after information reached Jerusalem indicating that such warrants could be issued in the near future, the report says.
Netanyahu also raised the concern in his meetings this week with Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
Tikum Ulam reported also that at Tuesday’s discussion…Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer decided that Israel would also seek assistance in other influential international diplomatic circles to try to thwart the effort, the report says.
This is a long-awaited decision by the ICC. Many Palestine supporters had criticized the Court for years over the delay after it announced in 2014 that it would begin an inquiry into war crimes during Operation Protective Edge (2014). ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan made a single visit to the Rafah crossing and made vague comments indicating Israel might be held responsible for its actions in Gaza.
“If the warrants are issued, it would indicate that the Court responded to such criticism; and that it finally recognized that the genocide merited charging those responsible for it “Tikum Ulam added.
“This would be the first time in Israel’s history that it faced formal charges of genocide. It will be the first time its prime minister and top generals will be charged with war crimes before an international tribunal. If they are found guilty, it will be the first time any Israeli figure has been judged and faced prison for his crimes. It is a monumental development, ” Tikum Ulam added.
Israeli media , News Agencies
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