Israel and the US are trying to prevent the issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu | iRADIO

The International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, is the first permanent institution of its kind with global jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes.

Analyst Ben Kaspit wrote on the Walla news site that Netanyahu is under “unusual stress” because an arrest warrant could be issued against him and other Israelis by the tribunal in The Hague, which would mean a significant deterioration in Israel’s international standing.

According to the analyst, Israel’s prime minister is leading a “non-stop telephone push” to prevent the arrest warrant, targeting in particular the administration of US President Joe Biden.

Israeli daily Haaretz analyst Amos Harel said the Israeli government expects ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Israeli army chief of staff Herci Halevi in ​​the coming week.

The United States, which, like Israel, is not among the 124 signatories of the Rome Statute of the ICC, has joined efforts to block the warrant, according to Harel.

A new precedent

Netanyahu said on Friday that any decision by the International Criminal Court, which is investigating the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 last year, as well as the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, would not affect Israel’s progress, but would set a dangerous precedent.

“We will never stop defending ourselves. While the Hague Court’s decision will not affect Israel’s actions, it would set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and representatives of every democracy fighting criminal terrorism and aggression,” he said.

The Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, joined the International Criminal Court in 2015. In February 2021, the ICC Chamber of Judges ruled that the tribunal could try any war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories.

This opened the way for the investigation of possible crimes by Israelis and Palestinians due to actions in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel and the United States criticized the court’s move.

Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip after the terrorist attacks of October 7, when the Palestinian group and the current ruler of the strip, Hamas, and its allies killed 1,200 people and kidnapped over 250 people in the Israeli border. In the first and so far only ceasefire at the end of November, less than half of the hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

It is believed that 129 hostages taken in October still remain in the Gaza Strip, but not all are alive. In retaliation, Israel launched a massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip and a ground operation that has so far claimed the lives of 34,454 Palestinians, according to Hamas-controlled authorities

CTK

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