The Israeli occupation government warned the American administration that it would work to impose sanctions against the Palestinian Authority that would lead to its collapse, if the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants against Israeli officials, according to what the Hebrew website Wallah reported tonight, citing unnamed senior Israeli and American officials.

The website pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials are very concerned about the possibility of the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants against him, along with Israeli Security Minister Yoav Galant, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy, and other senior officials, against the backdrop of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

In the last two weeks, Tel Aviv sent messages to Washington through several channels, through which it claimed that it had information indicating the involvement of the Palestinian Authority in pressuring the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Karim Khan, in order to issue arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials.

The website stated that senior Israeli and American officials said that Israel made clear to the administration of US President Joe Biden that if the International Criminal Court issues orders like this, Israel will see the Palestinian Authority as responsible for that and will respond through serious sanctions that may lead to its collapse.

Israel's freezing of the transfer of tax funds (clearance) that it collects to the Authority will likely be one of the sanctions against the Palestinian Authority in such a scenario, as it believes that depriving the Authority of these funds may push it into bankruptcy and collapse.

A senior Israeli official said that the threat to issue arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials is “serious,” stressing that the occurrence of such a scenario will push the Israeli government to take an official decision regarding important steps and sanctions against the Palestinian Authority that may lead to its collapse.

The issue of Israeli fears of arrest orders was raised during the phone conversation held by Netanyahu and Biden last Sunday, during which Netanyahu asked for US help in confronting such orders. Biden stressed to Netanyahu the United States’ opposition to the investigations conducted by the International Criminal Court in Lahey against Israel.

Senior American officials stated that the Biden administration sent letters to the court’s prosecutor’s office, in which it made clear that issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials “would be a mistake and that the United States does not support that.”

One of the American officials said, according to the Hebrew website: “We are passing calm messages to the court, and we urge the plaintiff not to do so (issuing orders), because this matter will lead to a major explosion and Israel will respond against the Palestinian Authority.” The American official indicated that despite the pressure being exerted on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants, the United States does not believe that this is a step that is expected to take place in the near future, contrary to Israeli concerns.