Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not waited for the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague (Netherlands), to issue possible sanctions against those responsible in his country for the war in Gaza. The conservative leader has preferred to react before this happens. He believes that, if it occurs, this step would be a “dangerous precedent” that would not make him change his war agenda. The president considers the threat against the country’s political and military authorities by that court “scandalous.” “We will not give in to him,” he said in a harsh statement made public this Friday on his profile on the social network X (formerly Twitter). “Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by The Hague Criminal Court to undermine its fundamental right to defend itself,” he adds.
For days, signs of concern in Israel regarding possible arrest warrants for alleged violations of international law against Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have been increasing, as revealed by different media. Members of the government and legal advisors held an emergency meeting on April 16 in the prime minister’s office to outline the defense plan in the face of a possible short-term announcement from The Hague, Israeli television Channel 12 reported. The Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, would have attended this meeting; that of justice, Yariv Levin, and that of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, according to that same medium.
The concern about these possible sanctions has been shared by Netanyahu in the recent meetings he has held in his country with the Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, and of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, that channel added. Israel is not a member of the ICC nor does it recognize its jurisdiction. This circumstance means that possible arrests could only occur if the accused traveled to one of the 124 countries that are part of this court. Palestine, on the other hand, has been a member state since 2015. This court can act against individuals in cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide or aggression.
On March 20, the Law for Palestine organization, supported by fifteen humanitarian organizations from different Arab countries, sent a letter to this criminal court in which it accused civil and military authorities of Israel of “genocide” against the Palestinians.
תחת הנהגתי, ישראל לעולם לא תקבל כל ניסיון של בית הדין הפלילי בהאג רער את זכותה הבסיסית להגן על עצמה.
האיום נגד חיילי צה״ל ואישי הציבור של ישראל, הדמוקרטיה היחידה במזרח התיכון והמדינה היהודית היחידה בעולם, הוא שערורייתי.
לא נכנע לו.
ישראל תמשיך עד לניצחון במלחמתנו הצודקת נגד…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 26, 2024
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ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said in the early days of the war that began on October 7 that the court had jurisdiction over war crimes by both Hamas in Israel and Israel in Gaza. During a press conference in Cairo in early November, Khan insisted that Israel has “a clear moral and legal obligation” to comply with international law. The prosecutor noted that he will have to demonstrate that any attack that affects innocent civilians or protected objects is carried out within the law, in a message that he also extended to Hamas.
In January 2023, the CFI already issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his alleged responsibility in the forced deportation of Ukrainian minors from the occupied territories to Russia. Putin was the third sitting president to receive an arrest warrant from this court, after Omar al Bashir of Sudan and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.
It was South Africa that at the end of 2023 began to move actions against Israel for possible genocide in the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ), which like the ICC, is also based in The Hague. This procedure could lead to diplomatic isolation and boycotts or sanctions against Israel or against Israeli companies, so the authorities began to think about this possibility and their possible response, the newspaper noted at the time. Haaretz. According to the South African experts who promoted the measure, Gaza is “the first genocide in history where its victims record their own destruction live in a desperate and so far vain attempt to get the world to do something.”
The commanders of the Israeli army, including the head of the Armed Forces, Herzi Halevi, were warned, according to the same media, of the “real danger” of the court demanding the halt of military operations in Gaza. This is what ended up happening, although the measure had no effect on the ground: Israeli troops have continued to ravage the Palestinian enclave, where they have already killed more than 34,000 inhabitants.
South Africa requested that the ICJ open proceedings against Israel for allegedly violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948). In this case, both South Africa and Israel are member states of the aforementioned Convention. South Africa hopes to demonstrate that Israel has taken actions to destroy the Palestinian population that go beyond legitimate defense, precisely the argument that Netanyahu makes after the murder on October 7 of some 1,200 people at the hands of Hamas.
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