Israel fears further ICC arrest warrants for military figures

The Israeli government is reportedly concerned that further arrest warrants could be issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against senior military figures over the Gaza war.

In a landmark ruling, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including using starvation as a method of warfare and the crime of persecution.

Netanyahu and Gallant along with the United States have strongly rejected the court’s decision which has been widely respected by governments around the world.

According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli establishment fears that army chief of staff Herzi Halevi could be issued with a warrant and foreign governments might begin taking steps to delay or suspend arms licenses to Israel.

The Israeli cabinet reportedly met on Friday evening to discuss the warrants issue and work out mechanisms to derail The Hague’s investigation by claiming the court does not have the jurisdiction to carry out the case.

Israel’s KAN state broadcaster reported that officials are hoping the US will “act more forcefully against The Hague” – a point which might well come into action under the next administration of president-elect Donald Trump.

In response to the court’s announcement on Thursday, Trump’s future national security advisor Mike Waltz threatened “a strong response” to the ICC when he takes office in January. Other senior Republican figures have called for sanctions against British lawyer Karim Khan who is the ICC’s chief prosecutor and leading the investigation.

Several European and Western countries expressed their intention to abide by the court’s decision, while Arab countries and humanitarian rights organizations welcomed the move.

The Israeli government is considering political steps to push back against the warrants – an issue which has been previously recognised by the Israeli government attorney general in the past.

Gali Baharav-Miara, the attorney general, previously urged Netanyahu to allow the establishment of an internal probe into the 7 October attacks and the Gaza war in a bid to fend off the international enquiry.

One of the key points which enables the ICC to pursue cases is evidence that the accused state has not shown willingness or demonstrated that it can conduct an internal investigation into the allegations.

Earlier this year, an Israeli NGO called on the US to investigate prominent lawyer Amal Clooney for her role in the case against Netanyahu and Gallant.

According to right-wing Israeli NGO Shurat HaDin, the British-Lebanese human rights lawyer – wife of Hollywood superstar George Clooney – has allegedly broken US federal law by participating in the “investigative actions” against Netanyahu for war crimes while on American soil.

Since the announcement in May by chief prosecutor Khan that he was pursuing warrants, there have been several attempts by the Israelis to smear the court and Khan himself.