ICC Prosecutor Demands End To ‘Intimidation’ Of Court As Israel Seeks to Block Potential Arrest Warrants Against Leaders
The prosecutor’s office for the International Criminal Court (ICC) called for an end to “intimidation” tactics used against his staff and threats “to retaliate against the court” on Friday, just two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on world leaders to intervene if the court issues arrest warrants against its senior officials.
The move comes amid increasing concern over recent weeks from Israel that arrest warrants could be issued imminently against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as part of an ongoing ICC investigation into allegations of war crimes committed by both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants since the 2014 conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The ICC’s work is separate to the International Court of Justice, also based in The Hague, which is adjudicating a lawsuit initiated by South Africa accusing Israel of conducting a genocidal military campaign in Gaza.
In its Friday statement the ICC does not specify particular cases of intimidation or threats levelled at the court but said that threats against the Court and its personnel undermined the court’s mandate to act “independently and impartially” and that “intimidation” could be considered a criminal offence against the tribunal itself under the Rome Statute.
The statement, however, follows a video statement issued on Wednesday by Netanyahu blasting the notion of any potential ICC arrest warrants as an “outrageous assault on Israel’s inherent right of self-defense.”
He said that the any warrant issued would be “an outrage of historic proportions” and accused the ICC of “trying to put Israel in the dock” for trying to “defend itself against genocidal terrorists and regimes” – who he described as “barbarians.” Netanyahu called on “the leaders of the free world” to “use all the means at their disposal to stop this dangerous move.”
Netanyahu reportedly appealed to President Joe Biden to intervene with any future warrants the ICC chooses to issue against Israeli leaders in a call on Sunday.
The United States expressed its support for Israel, with a White House spokesperson remarking that the ICC holds “no jurisdiction in this situation” and that the Biden administration “do not support its investigation.”
The position is consistent with the understanding that neither the United States nor Israel are signatories of the Rome Statute, under which the ICC insists it has jurisdiction for its investigation.
