Political and human rights reports and estimates indicate that the Israeli government has received messages about the possibility of issuing arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court in The Hague against senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The official Israeli silence regarding these reports reflects the concerns that Tel Aviv is experiencing in light of the continuing war on Gaza, with increasing estimates of the possibility of bringing it to international trial on charges of committing war crimes.

Amid international warning messages, Netanyahu's office held a secret session on Tuesday, during which worrying scenarios and serious concerns related to the issuance of international arrest warrants against Israeli security, military and political leaders were reviewed, according to a report by Israeli Channel 12 on Thursday.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Foreign Minister Israel Katz participated in the secret consultations, in addition to specialists and lawyers dealing with this issue in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Security.

The discussions were dominated by the issue of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and statements by several countries that Israel is violating international law, as well as the treatment of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip in a manner that violates the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Confidential consultations

Yaron Abraham, political affairs correspondent for the Israeli Channel 12, explained that the secret and emergency consultations that were held away from the media in Netanyahu’s office with the participation of senior leaders of the security, military, political and judicial services in Israel, confirm the seriousness of the warning messages and the fear of issuing international arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, in light of the continued war on Gaza.

According to estimates, Abraham says that the opportunity to issue arrest warrants has increased significantly, and an attempt may be made to issue them at the end of next May.

Accordingly, according to the correspondent, at the end of the secret hearing, it was decided to move in front of the court in The Hague and go to influential international diplomatic bodies in order to prevent the issuance of arrest warrants, without revealing the identity of these bodies, which are likely to be European and American.

But the reporter revealed that Netanyahu, also in his meetings with the British and German foreign ministers in Jerusalem, requested their assistance in the case before the International Court. Abraham said, "This legal complexity is not simple, and it is what Israel realizes from the past, but it now appears more powerful and complex after the war in Gaza that has been ongoing since the seventh of last October."

In its comment on the moves against Israel at the International Court, the newspaper "Maariv" did not rule out that Netanyahu would be brought to international trial if the orders issued by the court were not complied with, which may be represented by future decisions demanding that Israel cease fire in Gaza.

The newspaper estimated that the warning messages were serious, recalling that more countries had joined the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel, accusing it of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, preventing the entry of aid and relief, and not avoiding targeting civilians, which constitutes a violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention regarding the protection of civilian persons. 

Regarding the official measures taken by Israel to prevent the issuance of arrest warrants, the newspaper pointed out the enlistment of some European countries alongside Israel in the International Criminal Court, citing the German government’s announcement before the court that Israel’s security is the “core” of its national security, in response to the lawsuit it filed. Nicaragua against it, accusing it of complicity in the "Gaza genocide", due to security assistance to Israel.

Warning signal

A report issued by the Center for National Security Research at Tel Aviv University, entitled “The Hague Tribunal’s Decision...a Practical Achievement and a Warning Signal,” concluded that the international court did not accept Israel’s request to dismiss the lawsuit brought by South Africa and ordered the issuance of a number of temporary orders, which will be in effect until the final ruling in this case is expected to take several years, which is considered a warning sign for Israel.

The report pointed out that the Genocide Convention, which entered into force in 1951, defines this genocide as “certain acts committed against members of a national, religious, ethnic or racial group, with the intention of destroying the group in whole or in part,” which are the suspicions attributed to Israel in the lawsuit’s letter provided by South Africa.

The report explained that Israel's main concern is that the court will issue a unilateral ceasefire decision in Gaza, without being able to force Hamas to do so as well.

In light of this, the report concluded, “Israel will be required to act in a responsible and prudent manner with regard to the legal campaign being waged against it in general, and in particular with regard to the proceedings of the International Court.”

"We ate the taste"

In contrast to the official Israeli government silence, activists and opponents of the Netanyahu government and the plan for amendments to the Israeli judicial system, including those organizing protests demanding an exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance, reacted to the warning messages from the International Court, and considered it a message of deterrence and warning to Israeli leaders.

Israeli activist Delilah Moore tweeted on her account on the “X” platform, saying, “For many years, the left and the Supreme Court have claimed that it was only because of the Supreme Court that senior Israeli officials were not put in the dock in The Hague Court, but today it is happening, and there is a high possibility of issuing an arrest warrant.” Against Netanyahu and other senior officials from the ICC, we took the bait and were charged in The Hague.”

Ami Dror, one of the activists leading the protests against the Israeli government, wrote, “The world does not stop for a single moment, and continues measures against the Netanyahu government.” He added in his tweet, “Netanyahu is dangerous to Israel, Netanyahu is dangerous to the Middle East, Netanyahu is dangerous to world peace, his time is short.” !

As human rights activist and lawyer Uri Brightman wrote, “Until now, Netanyahu feared imprisonment for his criminal actions in Israel, and now - in the shadow of the war on Gaza - he fears even more the International Criminal Court in The Hague.”

Source: Al Jazeera