Israeli authorities fear that the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has been investigating the situation in Gaza since mid-November issue arrest warrants this week against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Army Chief Herzl Halevi, considering that they have not done enough to prevent violations committed by their troops against Palestinian civilians, reports the Haaretz newspaper.
According to the Israeli newspaper, both the Ministry of Justice and the Army’s lawyers are trying to prevent this from happening and, in addition, Netanyahu, the Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dremes, and countries friendly to Israel, with the United States at the head, They are trying to convince ICC Attorney General Karim Khan to delay or even prevent the issuance of the warrants.
“Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the International Criminal Court in The Hague to undermine its basic right to defend itself,” Netanyahu said last Friday in a statement on Telegram. “While the decisions made by the Hague tribunal will not affect Israel’s actions, they will set a dangerous precedent that threatens soldiers and public figures,” he added.
The newspaper highlights some of the statements that several of the country’s highest officials have made over the course of 206 days, such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, who demanded the cutting off of supplies in the Gaza Strip, arguing that “that is what that child murderers deserve. The Israeli Army has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians since October 7 and has brought Gaza to a catastrophic situation. The Palestinian group Hamas is currently studying the latest truce proposal. Israel has warned that this is the last attempt to reach an agreement before a ground invasion of Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are crowded, which could mean a “disaster” according to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel, like other countries such as the United States, Russia or Iran, do not recognize the authority of the ICC, but the 123 countries that do recognize it would be obliged to arrest these individuals and hand them over to the Hague court in the event that it is issued. an arrest warrant against them and enter their territories. It is something that has affected, for example, the Russian president’s ability to travel internationally. On the other hand, according to former Israeli deputy attorney general Roy Schondorf, cited by Haaretz, the issuance of arrest warrants could lead to measures against Israel such as an arms embargo or economic sanctions.
lgc (efe, rtr, haaretz)
