War crimes in Gaza, Israeli leaders in fear of ICC arrest warrant

The United Nations International Criminal Court (ICC) is going to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several Israeli political and military leaders on charges of genocide and violations of international law in the Gaza Strip.

But lawyers in the US, Israel's Justice Ministry and the army are working hard to prevent that from happening. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the United States and other Western countries are also trying to convince Karim Khan, the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, to delay or prevent the issuance of the warrant. But it is not clear how successful they have been.

Israeli officials say they expect warrants against Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Harzal Halevi to be issued sometime this week. Officers below them will be spared.

Unlike the International Court of Justice, which hears cases filed by South Africa against Israel, the ICC handles cases against individuals. Like the United States, India, China, Russia, Iran and most Arab countries, Israel recognizes the authority of the International Court of Justice but not the ICC.

If a warrant is issued, each ICC member state (123 in total) is obliged to arrest and extradite the accused to The Hague if they enter their territory. Although there is no way to appeal international arrest warrants, any country could theoretically tell the court that it is handling the case itself.

According to former Deputy Attorney General Roy Schondorff, the issuance of an arrest warrant could lead to actions against Israel such as an arms embargo or economic sanctions. "These warrants will group Israel with countries deemed violators of international law and will come on top of all other cases against Israel," Schondorff said.

Arrest warrants have never been issued against Israeli officials. But in March 2023, the ICC issued a warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of an investigation into possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine. As a result, Putin cannot travel to countries where he thinks he might be arrested. Source: Haaretz.