A statement released by the Israeli government on Thursday has said that Israel will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) tribunal’s probe into war crimes committed on Palestinian territory. Israel’s decision was based on the recommendations of the National Security Council (NSC), which has also said that the court is acting without authority. The statement was made after discussions between top officials including Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister (DM) Benny Gantz, and Foreign Minister (FM) Gabi Ashkenazi.
Israel’s announcement came a day after the United States (US) restored economic, development, and humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people, which former President Donald Trump had slashed in 2018. The statement, which was communicated by the PM’s media advisor, also read that “Israel is a nation of laws that knows how to investigate itself.”
Last month, the ICC confirmed that it had sent formal notices to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) about the investigation. The court decided to look into possible war crimes committed by both sides after a formal request made by Palestine, which joined the tribunal in 2015 as a non-member with observer status. Despite vehement opposition from the Jewish State and its allies, in February, the ICC ruled that for its purposes, Palestine qualified as the state on the territory where the events in question occurred—which include the 2014 Gaza war, the “Great March of Return” of 2018, and Jewish settlements in the West Bank and building in East Jerusalem—and defined its territorial jurisdiction as extending to those areas.
Also read: Understanding the Importance and Implications of the ICC’s Decision on Israel
Israel on Thursday stressed that it “absolutely rejects the claim” that it has carried out any war crimes in the region and reiterated its “unequivocal position according to which the court in the Hague lacks the authority to open an investigation against it.” If the ICC finds Israel guilty and warrants are issued against Israeli citizens, they could be subject to arrests outside Israel.
On the other hand, Palestine has said that it would cooperate with the probe. Omar Awadallah, a senior official in the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, told Reuters that “full cooperation with the ICC will continue from the State of Palestine, as a member state of the court, to achieve justice for the victims of the Palestinian people and hold Israel accountable for its crimes.”
The US has also denounced the court’s decision. While removing the Trump-era sanctions on ICC officials including chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda earlier this week, Washington reiterated it did not support the investigations into Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Last Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi and reaffirmed the US’ strong commitment to Israel and said that Washington looks forward to “strengthening all aspects” of its partnership with Tel Aviv. The talks between the two envoys also touched upon the ICC probe and, in a series of tweets, Israeli FM Ashkenazi said that the US firmly supported Israel and that it “does not agree with the Court’s activities with regards to the Palestinian matter nor with the Court’s attempt to exercise authority against non-member countries.”
Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute of 1998 which established the ICC and its leaders have been carrying a diplomatic campaign to persuade world leaders to reject the ICC’s probe. In this respect, President Reuven Rivlin conducted a European tour last month, where he visited Germany, Austria, and France and urged them to stand by the Jewish State. Netanyahu called the Court’s decision to probe Israel as “hypocrisy” and said that “a body that was founded to defend human rights has become a hostile body that defends those who trample human rights.”