Israel fears ICC arrest warrants for top officials over Gaza war
Kyiv • UNN
Israel is concerned that the International Criminal Court may issue arrest warrants for its top officials on charges related to the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel is concerned that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for its top officials on charges related to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing Israeli officials, UNN reports .
Details
According to the newspaper, Western officials have approached the court to express concern about any future rulings, as it could undermine US-led diplomacy aimed at achieving a ceasefire and the release of some of the 129 hostages seized on October 7 and held in Gaza.
Israeli officials believe that a court based in The Hague is preparing arrest warrants for members of the country's top leadership, which would be the most serious international legal action taken against Israel since the war began in October.
Three European officials said the issue was raised at a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers earlier this month. Two of them said that the United States and the United Kingdom are believed to have taken legal action.
However, officials emphasized that Western capitals do not want to intervene to put pressure on the ICC in connection with its decisions.
The White House does not believe that the ICC has jurisdiction over the investigation, White House Press Secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said on Monday, answering a question about reports that the court could issue arrest warrants. "We do not support that," she said of the investigation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly criticized the ICC. "It is disgraceful that the International Criminal Court is reportedly planning to issue unfounded and illegal arrest warrants for Israeli officials," he said in a statement.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the social media platform X that "Israel will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right to self-defense.
"The threat of capturing soldiers and officials of the only democracy in the Middle East and the only Jewish state in the world is outrageous," he said.
Former Israeli Deputy Attorney General Roy Shondorf said that it takes time to prepare arrest warrants "given the complexity of some of the legal and factual issues involved in what people say is the prosecutor's concern.
He added: "It's a big risk to go to court for a country's arrest warrant and at the end of the process get an acquittal or have the court deny the request."
He added: "It's a big risk to go to court for an arrest warrant from any country and at the end of the process get an acquittal or a court rejects the request."
Schondorff said Hamas could also expect an arrest warrant from the ICC, given the abundance of video evidence.
If the court issues an arrest warrant, it will require the more than 120 countries that signed the founding treaty to detain Israeli leaders, which will impose travel restrictions on them and put many of Israel's allies in a difficult position.
Context
On the afternoon of May 20, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Kareem Khan, announced that he had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, as well as three Hamas leaders.
All of them are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.