Netanyahu challenges International Criminal Court possible sanctions against those responsible for Gaza war. international

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not waited for the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague (Netherlands), to issue possible sanctions against his country’s officials responsible for the war in Gaza. The Conservative leader has preferred to react before it happens. He believes that if this happens, the move would set a “dangerous precedent” that would force them to change their war agenda. The President considers the threats made by that court against the country’s political and military authorities as “reprehensible”. “We will not bow down to them,” he said in a harsh statement made public this Friday on his profile on the social network X (formerly Twitter). He added, “Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the Hague Criminal Court to undermine its fundamental right to defend itself.”

For several days, there have been growing signs of concern in Israel over possible arrest warrants for alleged violations of international law against Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, as reported by various media. Government members and legal advisers held an emergency meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on April 16 to outline a defense plan in view of a possible short-term declaration from The Hague, Israeli television Channel 12 reported. The Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, may have attended this meeting; of Justice, Yariv Levin, and of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, according to the same medium.

The channel said Netanyahu shared concerns about these potential sanctions with Foreign Ministers David Cameron of the United Kingdom and Annalena Baerbock of Germany in recent meetings in their countries. Israel is not a member of the ICC nor does it recognize its jurisdiction. This circumstance means that a possible arrest can only take place if the accused travels to one of the 124 countries that are part of this court. Palestine, on the other hand, is a member state since 2015. This court can take action 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 various Arab countries, sent a letter to this criminal court in which it accused Israeli civilian and military authorities of “genocide” against Palestinians.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said in the early days of the war, which began on October 7, that the court had jurisdiction over war crimes committed by both Hamas in Israel and Israel in Gaza. During a press conference in Cairo in early November, Khan stressed that Israel has a “clear moral and legal obligation” to abide by international law. The prosecutor said they must demonstrate that any attacks affecting innocent civilians or protected objects are carried out within the law, also sending a message to Hamas.

In January 2023, the CFI had 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 Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.

It was South Africa that initiated action against Israel for possible genocide in late 2023 at the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ), which, like the ICC, is also based in The Hague. This process could lead to diplomatic isolation and boycotts or sanctions against Israel or Israeli companies, so officials began to think about this possibility and their possible response, the newspaper noted at the time. Haaretz, According to the South African experts promoting the measure, Gaza is “the first genocide in history where its victims record their destruction in a desperate and so far futile attempt to make something of the world.”

According to the same media, Israeli military commanders, including the head of the armed forces, Herzi Halevi, were warned about the “real threat” of the court seeking to halt military operations in Gaza. This is what ultimately happened, although this measure had no effect on the ground: Israeli troops continued to devastate the Palestinian territories, where they had already killed more than 34,000 residents.

South Africa requested that the ICJ initiate 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 above convention. South Africa hopes to demonstrate that Israel has taken actions to destroy the Palestinian population that go beyond legitimate defense, the same argument Netanyahu has made following the killing of nearly 1,200 people at the hands of Hamas on October 7.

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