The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, last May formally sought arrest warrants for Israeli officials and Hamas leaders. Now, the Israeli government has been apprehensive following Friday’s advisory opinion from the International Court which calls for an end to Israel’s “occupation” of Judea and Samaria. The opinion has raised concerns within Israel’s Justice and Foreign Ministries who fear it might embolden judges at the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
However, on Monday the Israeli government received some respite when at an ICC hearing, the judges decided to allow 70 countries and organizations to submit reservations against the court’s authority to judge Israeli citizens. The immediate meaning of the decision is a delay of at least two and a half months in the possibility of issuing international arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
It should be noted that the judges have not yet made a decision on issuing arrest warrants, and the call to submit objections is strictly on Israel’s position that the prosecutor has no legal grounds for his warrant request.
At the center of their decision, the judges allowed 70 different countries and organizations to submit their reservations, and about 30 countries are expected to do just that. Among those countries are Germany and the United States––which is not a member of the International Court of Justice and does not recognize its authority, and sides with Israel. The 70 international entities have until August 6 to submit their arguments for and against the decision, in a ten-page document. Khan will also be given the right to appeal, which may further delay the decision.
Incidentally, Khan’s request for warrants also included Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar, and Ismail Haniyeh, but Deif was recently eliminated by the IDF, making the ICC’s task of delivering the Hamas summonses one-third lighter.
