THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Israeli officers sound more and more involved that the Worldwide Prison Court docket might problem arrest warrants for the nation’s leaders greater than six months into the Israel-Hamas battle.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote Friday basically phrases about ICC motion towards Israeli troops and officers, and Israel’s international ministry has mentioned it is usually monitoring experiences of pending motion.
The ICC was arrange greater than a decade in the past to sort out impunity for battle crimes, crimes towards humanity, genocide and different grave crimes when states do not prosecute them. With no police pressure, the ICC depends on member states to arrest suspects.
Netanyahu mentioned on the social platform X Friday that Israel “won’t ever settle for any try by the ICC to undermine its inherent proper of self-defense.”
“Whereas the ICC won’t have an effect on Israel’s actions, it will set a harmful precedent,” he wrote.
Israel’s Overseas Ministry mentioned late Sunday that it had knowledgeable missions overseas of “ rumors ” that the courtroom might order the arrest of senior Israeli political and army officers. The ministry didn’t give a supply for the rumors.
In a press release emailed to The Related Press, the courtroom’s prosecution workplace declined to remark intimately.
The ICC’s 124 member states signed on to a 2002 treaty referred to as the Rome Statute. Dozens of nations didn’t signal and don’t settle for the courtroom’s jurisdiction over battle crimes, genocide and different crimes. They embody Israel, america, Russia and China.
The ICC turns into concerned when nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes on their territory. Israel argues that it has a functioning courtroom system, and disputes over a nation’s capacity or willingness to prosecute have fueled previous disputes between the courtroom and particular person nations.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump slapped financial and journey sanctions on the ICC prosecutor and one other senior prosecution workplace staffer. The ICC workers have been wanting into U.S. and allies’ troops and intelligence officers for potential battle crimes in Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden, whose administration has supplied essential army and political assist for the Gaza offensive, lifted the sanctions in 2021.
The ICC has 17 ongoing investigations, has issued a complete of 42 arrest warrants and brought 21 suspects into custody. Its judges have convicted 10 suspects and acquitted 4.
In its early years, the courtroom was criticized for specializing in crimes in Africa — 10 of its investigations are in African nations — however now has investigations in Asia, Europe, the Center East and Latin America.
Israel typically levies accusations of bias at worldwide our bodies such because the United Nations. The ICC is just not a U.N. physique however accepted “The State of Palestine” as a member in 2015, a yr after the Palestinians accepted the courtroom’s jurisdiction.
The courtroom’s chief prosecutor on the time introduced in 2021 that she was opening an investigation into potential crimes on Palestinian territory. Netanyahu slammed the choice as hypocritical and antisemitic.
Present ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan visited Ramallah and Israel in December, assembly Palestinian officers and households of Israelis killed or taken hostage by Hamas militants within the Oct. 7 assault that sparked the Israel-Hamas battle.
Khan referred to as Hamas’ actions “a number of the most severe worldwide crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, crimes which the ICC was established to handle,” and referred to as for the quick and unconditional launch of all hostages.
Khan mentioned that “worldwide humanitarian legislation should nonetheless apply” within the Israel-Hamas battle and “the Israeli army is aware of the legislation that should be utilized.”
A yr in the past after the courtroom issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on expenses of accountability for the abductions of youngsters from Ukraine. Russia responded by issuing its personal arrest warrants for Khan and ICC judges.
Different high-profile leaders charged by the courtroom embody ousted Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir on allegations together with genocide in his nation’s Darfur area. Former Libyan chief Moammar Gadhafi was captured and killed by rebels shortly after the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest on expenses linked to the brutal suppression of anti-government protests in 2011.
