Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that if the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for government officials on charges related to Israel’s war against Palestine, it would be a scandal of historic proportions. Reuters reports.
In recent days, Israeli officials have expressed concern that the ICC is preparing warrants for senior government officials in what would be the most serious international legal action taken against Israel since the Gaza war broke out in October.
The ICC, which can charge individuals with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, is investigating Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack and Israel’s devastating military attack on Gaza, now in its seventh month.
“The possibility that they will issue arrest warrants for war crimes against IDF (Israel Defense Forces) commanders and government leaders is a scandal of historic proportions,” Netanyahu said in a video message.
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Israel says Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people; Gaza’s health ministry says more than 34,500 Gazans have been killed in Israel’s air and ground war, with most of the 2.3 million population forced from their homes and the area severely devastated.
However, it has since been discovered Gaaretz that Israeli army helicopters and tanks actually killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians that Israel claims were killed by the Palestinian Resistance.
UN bodies and human rights groups have accused Israel of violating international humanitarian law during its military operation in the Gaza Strip, which it denies.
Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize its jurisdiction, but the Palestinian territories were admitted to member state status in 2015.
In October, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said the Court has jurisdiction over any potential war crimes committed by Hamas militants in Israel and Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said any ICC arrest warrants would not affect Israel’s actions and he said it would be the first time a democratic country has been accused of war crimes by the Court.
“I want to make one thing clear: no decision, either in The Hague or anywhere else, will harm our determination to achieve all the goals of the war – the release of all our hostages, the complete victory over Hamas and the promise that the Gaza Strip will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” he said.
International Criminal Court prosecutors have interviewed staff at two of Gaza’s largest hospitals, sources said. ReutersThis is the first confirmation that ICC investigators have spoken with doctors about possible crimes in the Gaza Strip.
One of the sources said the events surrounding the hospitals could become part of the ICC investigation.
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