Islam Times - Netanyahu Under ICC Blade for Gaza War Crimes

Islam Times - Political and rights reports and assessments suggest that the Israeli regime has received messages about possibility of International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing an arrest warrant to senior officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, something causing serious worries among Tel Aviv leaders.

In addition to Netanyahu, other officials like Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi are on the list of those under the risk of being targeted by arrest warrant for war crimes.

Since the case is seriously pursued by the ICC, Axios news website has revealed that Netanyahu has called for US President Joe Biden's help to steer clear of such a ruling. The news outlet reported that the Israeli PM called for preventing a legal action that targets him, his defense minister, and his chief of general staff.

Axios reported that members of the Congress from both the Republican and Democratic parties warned the Hague-based court about issuing arrest warrants to Israeli officials and threatened that such an action would be met with an American response. Washington has reportedly clearly stated its opposition to this court's probe about the actions of the Israeli regime in the Gaza Strip.

"We've been really clear about the ICC investigation, that we don't support it, we don't believe that they have the jurisdiction," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing.

Reports said that the ICC judges refused to comment on the issue of Netanyahu's arrest warrant following the US threat. On January 26, following South Africa's complaint about the Israeli genocide in Gaza, the International Court of Justice asked this regime to take measures to prevent the genocide in Gaza and stop direct incitement to commit such crimes.

Under pressure at home and abroad these days, Netanyahu is highly frightened from an arrest warrant, and to avoid such a legal action, he is resorting to the Western leaders for pressure on the ICC.

"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 in a statement on Telegram.

"While decisions made by the court in the Hague will not affect Israel's actions, they will set a dangerous precedent that threatens soldiers and public figures," he said.

Netanyahu's fear of arrest

Despite the rhetoric that claims the ICC decisions will not affect the Israeli policies, Netanyahu’s call for help for the White House shows that Netanyahu government is highly terrified with the legal proceedings led by the ICC for war crimes in Gaza.

From a legal viewport, the ICC arrest warrant targeting Netanyahu would mean that the 124 countries that have signed the Statute of the International Criminal Court will be obliged to arrest the Israeli PM and hand him over to the court if he entered the territory of these countries. This means that the leaders of Tel Aviv cannot travel to other countries, except to countries that promise in advance that they will not arrest them. Yedioth Aharonot newspaper held that "this will be a strong blow to Netanyahu, who considers himself a statesman who loves to travel around the world. This arrest warrant will keep him in Israel until further notice, even after he leaves the prime minister's office.

Should this arrest warrant is issued, Netanyahu will be the newest to the list of war criminals having received similar labeling in the past, including former Sudan President Omar al-Bashir and Former Ugandan army chief Joseph Kony.

Although Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize its jurisdiction, Palestine was accepted as a member state of this court in 2015, and other members of the ICC are required to arrest Netanyahu in the event of a verdict against war criminals.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan said his court has jurisdiction to look into the crimes in the current war between Israel and Palestinian resistance groups.

Other consequences of ICC arrest warrant

According to experts, the consequences of the arrest warrant will not be limited to the individuals and will have influence beyond that. Such an international legal action can affect the Western support to the Israeli government. Israeli legal experts warn of influence of such a ruling in causing restrictions to arms sales and even economic sanctions. Israeli media said that the Israeli justice ministry is pushing against such an ICC action.

Roy Schondrof, a former deputy to the Israeli Office of Attorney General, says that the arrest warrant can make an adequate document to accuse Israel of war crimes. This will damage the Israeli image more than ever worldwide and lead to further isolation of Tel Aviv on the world stage. The officials in Tel Aviv are worried that due to the continuation of conflict with the Palestinian resistance groups in the coming years, the issuance of the verdict in the current situation will provide the basis for the issuance of future verdicts against the authorities of this regime.

Israeli leaders are worried that the issuance of the arrest warrant will lead to boil-over of the global outrage, and the governments will have to abide by the ICC action.

In recent weeks, the rise of student protest movements around the world has increased the concerns of the Israelis. Actually, they are terrified by the unprecedented wave that has started, and this issue will cause serious problems for the occupation officials when they travel to other regions in the future.

Israeli Hayom newspaper news outlet reported that Foreign Minister Israel Katz has ordered the embassies of this regime and its diplomatic missions around the world to be prepared to deal with the spread of global protests against the Israeli behavior in Gaza war in the event of an ICC action against Netanyahu and the Israeli army.

If the ICC goes ahead with arrest warrant issuance, it will represent a heavy blow and shake the hardline government like a quake.

From another aspect, such an action against Israeli leaders will carry negative political repercussions to the American government that over the past 7 months with its all-out support to the massacre of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians has been an accomplice and the second defendant in the war.

The US House Speaker Mike Johnson warned on Monday that "if unchallenged by the Biden administration, the ICC could create and assume unprecedented power to issue arrest warrants against American political leaders, American diplomats, and American military personnel, thereby endangering our country’s sovereign authority.”

Reports also talk about a motion being set in the Senate by Republican Tom Cotton that plans to sanction ICC officials running the probe.

Certainly, these bullying stances by the US officials against the international laws not only cannot save the Israeli regime and Netanyahu from the swamp they are sinking in, but also will stir further backlash against the American government internationally and intensify the home protests and inflame the crisis.