April 29, 2024
TEL AVIV — Israel is greatly concerned that the International Criminal Court may issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior military officials as early as this week, an Israeli official told NBC News.
Israel is working through diplomatic channels to try to stop the warrants being issued, the official said Monday.
When asked about media reports of the arrest warrants, the ICC told NBC News that it “has an ongoing independent investigation in relation to the Situation in the State of Palestine" and that "we have no further comment to make at this stage."
The court launched an investigation three years ago into possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Palestinian militants going back to the Israel-Hamas war in 2014. It has given no public indication that arrest warrants are imminent, and it was not clear whether Israel was also expecting arrest warrants for any Hamas leaders.
The news comes as pressure mounts on Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza, which officials in the Palestinian enclave say has killed more than 34,000 people since it was launched in the wake of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Netanyahu spoke with President Joe Biden on Sunday night, and Israel is awaiting a response from Hamas on a new cease-fire proposal.
Karim Khan, who serves as chief prosecutor of the ICC, visited the region in December and said that his investigation was “moving forward at pace, with rigor, with determination and with an insistence that we act not on emotion but on solid evidence.”
RT reports: Citing an Israeli official, the American network claimed that warrants could be issued for Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and unnamed senior military officers. The official said that “Israel is working through diplomatic channels to try to stop the warrants being issued,” in NBC’s words.
According to Israeli media, army chief Herzl Halevi is among the military officials facing charges.
The ICC did not confirm or deny the report, telling NBC that it “has an ongoing independent investigation in relation to the situation in the State of Palestine” and has “no further comment to make at this stage.”
The ICC’s investigation was launched in 2021, and concerns alleged war crimes by the Israeli military and Palestinian militant groups in the West Bank and Gaza since 2014, when Israel fought a month-long war against Hamas.
The probe is separate to South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, which is currently being heard by the International Court of Juctice (ICJ). Pretoria alleges that Israeli forces have committed genocide and crimes against humanity during their ongoing operation against Hamas in Gaza.
The ICC and ICJ are both based in the Dutch city of The Hague. Under the 2002 Rome Statute, the ICC is tasked with prosecuting individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the ‘crime of aggression’. The ICJ on the other hand is an organ of the UN tasked with settling disputes between nations.
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