Will there be arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some of his ministers? All eyes are on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, which has a mandate to probe war crimes against humanity, genocides and, under certain circumstances, crimes of aggression. But the instance determines the responsibility of people and not that of a State.
The ICC has been active since 2002 and is based on the Treaty of Rome of 1998, and it was formed outside the UN system, to allow it to overcome the blockages of the Security Council.
In the context of the war between Israel and Hamas, Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the ICC, has seldom broken his silence. During a press conference in Cairo on October 30, 2023, he nevertheless displayed his determination: “My main and only goal must be to obtain justice for the victims and to respect my commitment when I took the oath under the Rome Statute (…) by impartially reviewing the evidence and defending the rights of people, whether they are Palestinians in the West Bank or Gaza or Jews in Israel,” he said.
We hence better understand the determination of Israel and its allies to fight the images broadcast daily and almost live in the media or on social networks. Because these images are important potential proof of war crimes. In particular, because representatives of the ICC, including prosecutor Karim Khan, have never been able to visit the Gaza Strip.
ICC could prosecute some Israeli leaders for the crime of starvation in the Gaza Strip
“The deprivation of water, food and humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip today is the result of political decisions, notably that of the Minister of Defense and the war cabinet to exercise a complete siege. This is a crime under international law. It is a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare, but it is also possibly a crime against humanity,” according to international law experts.
Investigations carried out by the ICC are confidential. We therefore do not know who and when and whether arrest warrants could be issued soon. Last week, several Israeli media outlets reported that Israeli authorities were considering a strategy against the possibility that the ICC would issue arrest warrants against certain Israeli government or military officials. But since then, nothing else has filtered out.
Observers are counting on imminent action by the International Criminal Court, because if it did nothing, “it would raise a question of both the impartiality of the prosecutions or political obstacles to its mandate. It is the question of the legitimacy of the Court and its credibility that is at stake,” according to them.
What's happening in Tunisia?
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for updates.
